DOWSING FOR POTENTIAL TEMPORARY AUTONOMOUS ZONES:A PSYCHOTOPOLOGY OF THE ALTERNATIVE LIFESTYLES

OF NOMADIC ARTISANS IN MEXICO

(Thesis format: Monograph)

by

Annaliese Mara Pope

Graduate Program in Sociology

A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of

Master of Arts

The School of Graduate and Postdoctoral StudiesWestern University

London, Ontario, Canada

© Annaliese Pope 2014

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Abstract

By using qualitative data gathered from semi-structured

interviews and participant observation, this study performs

a psychotopological investigation of the lifestyles of

nomadic artisans in Mexico in order to determine if the

spaces created through the performance of such lifestyles

are conducive to the germination of Temporary Autonomous

Zones (Bey, 1990). In so doing, it analyzes these artisans'

understandings and performances of time, space and mobility

and the ways in which they lend themselves to free

demonstrations of creative activity. It also examines

whether or not such free expressions of creative activity,

which are a fundamental part of these alternative

lifestyles, are coupled with demonstrations of psychic

nomadism and a rejection of psychic imperialism. Overall,

the findings suggest that the lifestyles of these artisans

may be conducive to the germination of a TAZ. However, such

an occurrence is largely dependent on the artisans'

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subjective intentions and the achievement of unity among

them.

Keywords: Mexico, nomadic artisans, la banda, Temporary Autonomous Zones, time, space, mobility, creativity, psychic nomadism, psychic imperialism, epistemological freedom.

Quienquiera que desee música en vez de ruido,alegría en vez de placer,

alma en vez de oro,trabajado creativo en vez de negocio,

pasión en vez de bufonadas,no encuentra hogar en este trivial mundo nuestro.

-Herman Hesse

Whoever wants music instead of noise,joy instead of pleasure,

soul instead of gold,creative work instead of business,

passion instead of foolery,

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finds no home in this trivial world of ours.-Herman Hesse

A los artesanos.

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Table of Contents

Abstract ............................................................................................................................................... i

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Table of Contents ........................................................................................................................... iv

List of Tables .................................................................................................................................... vi

List of Appendices ......................................................................................................................... vii

Chapter 1, Introduction ............................................................................................................... 1

Chapter 2, Literature Review .................................................................................................... 4

Marx and Alienation ..............................................................................................................4Coping with Alienating Employment Situations ...................................................... 6Social Ordering, Divisions and Alienated Life ........................................................... 8The Ordering of Time and Space ................................................................................... 12

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Time ........................................................................................................................................... 13Space .......................................................................................................................................... 20The Freedom to Create ...................................................................................................... 29Time, Space, Mobility and Unalienated Lifestyles .................................................. 32Temporary Autonomous Zones ..................................................................................... 33Psychotopology ..................................................................................................................... 38

Chapter 3, Methods ...................................................................................................................... 41

Conceptualizing the Alternative Lifestylesof Nomadic Individuals in Mexico ................................................................................. 42Study Overview ..................................................................................................................... 46Recruitment of Participants ............................................................................................. 49Description of the Participants ....................................................................................... 51

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Data Collection: Interviews and Participant Observation ...................................53Data Analysis .......................................................................................................................... 55Rationale for Methodology ............................................................................................... 57Strengths and Limitations of the Study ....................................................................... 59

Chapter 4, Results .......................................................................................................................... 61

Time ........................................................................................................................................... 62Space .......................................................................................................................................... 66Mobility .................................................................................................................................... 75Creativity .................................................................................................................................. 82Escaping Psychic Imperialism ...................................................................................... 92The Impact of an Alternative Lifestyle ...................................................................... 93

Chapter 5, Discussion .................................................

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Overview of Findings ........................................................................................................ 96Time ......................................................................................................................................... 96Space ........................................................................................................................................ 97Mobility ................................................................................................................................... 99Creativity ............................................................................................................................... 101Psychic Nomadism and the Avoidanceof Psychic Imperialism ....................................................................................................102The Lifestyles of Nomadic Artisans in Mexicoas Conducive to the Germination ofTemporary Autonomous Zones? ................................................................................. 102The Importance of the TAZ ............................................................................................ 105Theoretical Contributions .............................................................................................. 106Study Limitations and Suggestionsfor Future Research ...............................................

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.... 107Conclusion ............................................................................................................................. 108

References ...................................................................................................................................... 109

Appendix A: Pictures .................................................................................................................. 112

Appendix B: Interview Questions ......................................................................................... 117

Curriculum Vitae .......................................................................................................................... 119

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List of Tables

3.1 Participants' Descriptive Information (at time of interview) ........................... 53

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List of Appendices

A. Pictures .................................................................................................................................... 112

B. Interview Questions ............................................................................................................117

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Chapter 1

Introduction

Globalization, a hardly recent phenomenon, is

increasingly understood to be quite complex in its various

manifestations. The dominant paradigm of globalization as a

process through which the Global North has benefitted at the

expense of the Global South is being replaced by a multi-

scalar understanding of the intricacies and nuances that

take place therein (Sassen, 2003). New hierarchies have been

created, old ones have been challenged and sometimes

destroyed, and lateral meaning-making within said

hierarchies has been ossified, challenged, and has also

shape-shifted as a result of contact with differing

understandings and practices. Inequalities have surfaced and

deepened within both the Global North and Global South such

that agents from both spaces have been made aware of one

another and, on occasion, have joined in struggles against a

common global oppressor (De Sousa Santos, 2007, 2008). Such

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lateral solidarity, awareness and critical consciousness

have been enabled by the increased mobility of both ideas

and social agents.

These realities of what has been conceptualized as

globalization, glocalization and transnationalism challenge

the constraining ordering and controlling project of

modernity under capitalism insofar as they enable critical

consciousness and the agency of global social actors (De

Sousa Santos, 2007, 2008; Hannerz, 1996). Moreover, at the

benefit of the subaltern, the collisions involved in such

processes often serve to highlight points of contention, or

the areas in which said agency may be demonstrated.

These areas, or marginal zones, are fundamentally

incompatible with and highly critical of the ordering and

controlling project of modernity under capitalism. Social

actors within such zones are able to draw upon spatially-

situated ways of both knowing and being, and simultaneously

and strategically utilize transnational cultural flows to

challenge normalized practices and construct alternatives.

Although such alternatives are ultimately enabled by

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globalization, which has disseminated that which they

attempt to challenge, the cracks and fissures within the

global project of modernity under capitalism have allowed

for the collaboration and development of critiques. It is

within this current global context that marginal zones, as

an alternative to the controlling and ordering project of

modernity under capitalism, may be examined.

Modernity has been criticized by theorists such as

Zygmunt Bauman as a project that is "rational, planned,

scientifically-informed, expert [and] efficiently-managed"

(1989: 432). When this highly efficient ordering project is

coupled with profit-driven capitalism, it results in the

all-encompassing fragmentation and alienation of the lives

of those therein.

In an attempt to understand the ways in which this

alienation and fragmentation is buttressed, and whether or

not it may be avoided, I examine the alternative lifestyles

of nomadic artisans in Mexico who seek to avoid the

controlling and ordering mechanisms of modernity under

capitalism.

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A critical component of the alternative lifestyle

practiced by these artisans is the way in which it allows

criticisms of normalized "reality" to inform the creation of

epistemologically and ontologically divergent ways of

knowing and being. Therefore, I first examine whether or not

these individuals' epistemologically and ontologically

divergent ways of knowing and being allow them to transcend

the alienating and fragmenting project of modernity under

capitalism.

Then, in order to determine if such ontologically

divergent practices may have an impact on a larger scale, I

perform a psychotopological investigation of these artisans'

alternative lifestyles to assess if they are conducive to

the germination of Hakim Bey's Temporary Autonomous Zone

(TAZ. 1990). According to Bey, the TAZ performs a type of

ontological warfare so as to challenge widely held

normalized assumptions and practices in the search for

liberating alternatives.

Bey claims that spaces conducive to the development of

a TAZ must critique normalized assumptions and performances,

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allow these critiques to inform the practice of

alternatives, enable the free demonstration of creative

expression, and demonstrate psychic nomadism while rejecting

psychic imperialism. Therefore,

I allow the following research questions to guide this

psychotopological investigation of the alternative

lifestyles of nomadic artisans in Mexico: How do these

artisans both understand and practice time, space, and

mobility as part of an alternative lifestyle, and what are

the negative critiques and positive alternatives that take

place therein? Do these understandings and practices allow

for the free expression of creativity, and what is the

relationship of these expressions of creativity to

alienation, or a lack thereof, within this lifestyle? And

finally, are there demonstrations of psychic nomadism and

rejections of psychic imperialism within these

understandings and practices?

In the next chapter I examine the existing literature

concerning time, space, mobility and creativity and the ways

in which each may be practiced so as to either buttress or

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subvert the controlling, ordering, fragmenting and

alienating project of modernity under capitalism. I then

elaborate on the TAZ and the process of a psychotopological

investigation though which potential spaces of freedom may

be identified.

In the third chapter I introduce these nomadic artisans

and their alternative lifestyles. I then explain the process

of this investigation and its strengths and limitations.

The fourth chapter contains the results of the

psychotopological investigation, which has privileged the

narratives of these artisan individuals.

Finally, chapter five situates these results within the

existing literature and, in so doing, discusses whether or

not the alternative lifestyles of these nomadic artisans are

conducive to the germination of a TAZ. To conclude, I

discuss the importance of the TAZ and other areas in which

future research may also search for spaces of freedom.

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Chapter 2

Literature Review

In this chapter I review portions of the existing

literature on time, space, mobility and creativity, as well

as several epistemological and ontological challenges to the

ways in which they have been controlled, ordered, understood

and practiced.

I begin with a discussion of worker alienation and the

ways in which this alienation has spread beyond the

workplace to encompass all elements of human existence,

which results in fragmented and alienated life. I then discuss

the two spheres in which this fragmenting process of

ordering takes place: time and space. However, I argue that

the strategic use of mobility, or movement through time and

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across space, may allow for the transcendence of this

ordered time and space and, in so doing, create alternative

zones in which unalienated activities, such as creative

expression, may be performed. Finally, I discuss Hakim Bey's

(1990) Temporary Autonomous Zones (TAZs), as an alternative

space in which the themes of time, space, mobility and

creativity are fused. I conclude this chapter by posing

several questions concerning the ability to identify spaces

that may be conducive to the germination of the TAZ.

Marx and Alienation

According to Marx, the hierarchical and exploitative

nature of capitalism has serious consequences for workers.

Because workers do not own the means of production they are

forced to sell their labour power in order to survive. This

lack of control over the production of labour results in

four types of alienation. First, workers are separated from

the product of their labour. Second, they are alienated from

the process through which this product is created. Third,

workers are alienated from themselves and, thus, from their

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inherent creative potential. Finally, they are alienated

from other human beings and, therefore, from humanity as a

whole (Marx, 1978: 74-5). Cumulatively, these types of

alienation inhibit the ability of said workers to reach

their full potential, or what Marx refers to as species-

being (1978: 77). I elaborate on this process below.

The commodification of the product of labour results in

what Marx calls the "objectification of labour" or, "the

alienation of activity and the activity of alienation"

(1978: 71, 74). In other words, an alienating activity, such

as the process of labouring under capitalism, necessarily

negates the possibility for the worker to find fulfillment

and satisfaction and confirm him or herself. Therefore,

work, as an unfulfilling activity, is performed as a means

to an end, and not to attain any personal satisfaction or

express creative or spontaneous desires.

Because this process alienates workers from their self-

expression, desires, and ultimately, themselves, they are

incapable of entering into genuine and meaningful

relationships with other human beings. When coupled with the

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dogmatic individualism espoused by capitalism, this

alienation from self and others provides a serious

obstruction to the realization of species-being.

Marx believes that species-being develops over time

when an individual is able to demonstrate his or her will,

which manifests organically in demonstrations of free and

creative spontaneity, by continually performing unalienated

activity, or demonstrations of species-life (1978: 75-7).

Importantly, Marx discusses the ways in which humans create

even when they do not need something; they create for the

sake of beauty because it provides them with a sense of

fulfillment (1978: 76). However, this process of the

spontaneous creation of beauty to achieve fulfillment only

takes place when humans are free from need and from

estranged labour or, simply put, not alienated (Marx, 1978:

76-7). Therefore, for Marx, the ability to spontaneously

create something of aesthetic value, as a way of achieving

species-being, is a non-alienated process that is

fundamentally incompatible with capitalism (1978: 76). We

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will return to the importance of creativity as a fulfilling

human impulse later in this chapter.

Coping with Alienating Employment Situations

Attempts to minimize perceived alienation, which stems

from a lack of control over the production of labour, have

led some individuals to limit the amount of time that they

spend in alienating employment situations. These self-

imposed constraints on exposure to workplace alienation have

manifested in tactics such as the acceptance of flexible or

temporary employment in order to spend more time partaking

in leisure activities.

Patricia and Peter Adler (2003) have studied flexible

labour at resorts in Hawaii, where they have found

"seekers," or workers that intentionally choose flexible

seasonal employment in popular tourist destinations. Such

workers knowingly "seek out" employment in areas that they

would like to spend time in such that flows of tourism and

"high seasons" often dictate their globetrotting patterns.

Their decision to partake in seasonal and flexible

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employment is intentional and strategic insofar as it allows

them to adopt an uncommitted attitude towards employment

that facilitates the enjoyment of leisure activities.

Geographically specific activities (such as surfing in

Hawaii) commonly play an important role in the process of

selecting an area for employment, making seekers already

less invested in work than in leisure. This lack of

commitment to work is likely reinforced by the undesirable

tasks that short-term employees, such as seekers, are

routinely allocated. Therefore, the ontological nature of

seekers' employment often results in a strict separation

between work and leisure, as it is plausible that only the

latter provides intrinsic rewards, fulfillment and meaning.

Similarly, Catherine Casey and Petricia Alach (2004)

have examined the lifestyles of temporary women workers.

However, unlike many of Alder and Adler's seekers, who tend

to be young adults in search of adventure, Casey and Alach

discuss women who have made a long-term commitment to

temporary work as a lifestyle choice. This commitment to

temporary employment positions may be reflective of an

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increasing normalization of alternative employment and

lifestyle arrangements (Casey and Alach, 2004: 477). These

alternative employment situations, or, according to Casey

and Alach, "emancipatory alternatives," are often sought out

by women who feel that traditional employment opportunities

do not align with their personal values (2004: 465). They

explain that "...efforts to alter relations to conventional

marketized work appear to be motivated by alternative value

aspirations of quality of life--including quality of work--

in which non-economic qualities are emphasized" (2004: 461).

Thus, not only have these women opted out of traditional

employment because they find it incompatible with a life of

"quality," but doing so has also allowed them to pursue this

quality, or meaningful fulfillment, in their leisure time.

Because they have limited the time that they participate in

work, these women explain that they have been able to obtain

several benefits: the time for other pursuits and priorities

(such as volunteering, more intense involvement with family

and the pursuit of personal hobbies), the freedom and

flexibility to travel, and relief from mundane and

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monotonous work and tiresome workplace politics that are

often a part of steady employment. In sum, although such

temporary workers have limited the amount of time that they

spend in alienating employment situations, they have still

maintained a strict divide between alienating work and non-

alienated quality leisure time.

Therefore, both Adler and Adler's seekers and Casey and

Alach's temporary workers have found strategic ways to

minimize their subjection to alienating situations in order

to pursue more fulfilling and meaningful activities.

However, I argue that such strategies are problematic

insofar as they continue to perpetuate and normalize the

alienating divide between work and leisure that has resulted

from the control of the social within modernity under

capitalism. I elaborate on this divide below.

Social Ordering, Divisions and Alienated Life

"...the abolition of work is the first condition for the effective supersession of commodity society, for the elimination within each person's life of that separation between "free time" and "work time"-- those complementary sectors of alienated life-- that is a continual expression of the commodity'sinternal contradiction between use-value and exchange-value."

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(Situationist International Online. "On the Poverty ofStudent Life": 14)

The culture of modernity, and its fundamental

characteristics of the control and ordering of the social,

have been critiqued by Zygmunt Bauman as a type of

civilizing mission in which rationality and efficiency are

given precedence over other human faculties such as

emotionality and empathy (2001: 2, 10). This emphasis on

efficiency has resulted in hyper-controlled work

environments that have been promoted by the prototype of

scientifically managed labour (i.e., Taylorism and Fordism).

According to E.F. Schumacher this form of highly structured

and monotonous work imposes a type of violence on the human

spirit and its spontaneous nature; it is "an offensive

against the unpredictability, unpunctuality, general

waywardness and cussedness of living nature, including

man" (1989: 17).

Similarly, and in agreement with Marx, the late French

philosopher and sociologist Henri Lefebvre has argued that,

by leaving workers little control over the process of

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production, these hyper-controlled and industrialized work

environments have stripped the process of labouring of

meaning and value (2002: 69). Importantly, this absence of

meaning has also been extended to other realms of human life

and, in so doing, has differentiated and fragmented work

from leisure time. Lefebvre explains that before industry

was modernized, individuals achieved a sense of social and

personal identity through the process of labouring (1991:

68). However, as work has lost its meaning and become

increasingly alienating, individuals have begun to distance

themselves from the process of labouring and, thus, no

longer use work as a means of constructing identities.

Consequently, this separation of self from work, which had

previously provided value and meaning for all areas of life,

has led to an attitude of apathy concerning life outside of

work as well (Lefebvre, 1991: 69). Because labouring itself

fails to provide individuals with meaning, value-laden ideas

and judgments about work are formed outside of work

(Lefebvre, 1991: 70). These ideas often categorize the

process of labouring as a "necessary evil" and a means to an

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end, rather than a way in which intrinsic needs may be

fulfilled. In so doing, workers are able to justify their

involvement in labouring as economically necessary, insofar

as it sustains their lives outside of work, or allows them

to "sustain themselves" and "live well" during their leisure

time (Lefebvre, 1991: 70). Therefore, this process

effectively allocates meaning to the realm of leisure, and

maintains its ideological fragmentation from work.

Here, Lefebvre explains that although meaning has been

relocated to the realm of leisure, this meaning is nothing

more than a consumerist facade that only results in more

alienation. Simply put, the process of fragmentation means

that all of life has become alienated, an assertion that

becomes clear when we examine work and leisure in a

dialectical manner (Lefebvre, 2002: 29-30). Lefebvre asserts

that the "vicious cycle" between work and alienation

involves a process in which "we work to earn our leisure,

and leisure only has one meaning: to get away from work"

(2002: 40). As discussed above, alienated labour involves

the imposition of a series of violent controls on the

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worker, a process for which the worker believes that he or

she must be compensated. This compensation takes the form of

leisure time, and the extent to which workers believe that

such leisure time is "owed" to them speaks volumes about the

alienating nature of labour (Lefebvre, 2002: 30,40). In

contrast to alienated labouring, leisure is understood as

the realm of relaxation and rest, an orientation that

frequently lends itself to passive consumption (Lefebvre,

2002: 32; Situationist International, 1960). However,

because the consumption of commodities under capitalism is

always an alienated activity, this means that consumptive

leisure time is not only passively alienating insofar as it

is ontologically dependent on the ideological facade of a

diametric opposition to alienated labour, but that it is

also actively alienating when it is defined by a belief in

one's entitlement to consume as compensation for

participating in alienated labour.

In sum, fragmentations such as those found between work

and leisure compose the totality of everyday life under

capitalism, and because they are hyper-organized and

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ordered, such fragmentations fail to leave room for an

"outside" or non-fragmented and non-alienated sphere

(Lefebvre, 1991: 31). Due to the ordering and controlling

projects of modernity under capitalism, life as a whole has

become alienated.

By returning to Adler and Adler's seekers and Casey and

Allach's temporary workers, it now becomes apparent that

tactics such as limiting time spent in alienating labour to

pursue what is understood as non-alienated leisure only

perpetuates the ideological divide between work and leisure

that buttresses alienated life. Seekers and temporary

workers are still required to sell their labour power by

participating in non-fulfilling tasks that lack meaning and

thus, do not contribute to the development of species-being.

Although these approaches are strategic, they have not

stepped outside of the epistemological framework of

modernity and its diametric opposition between work and

leisure and, in so doing, sustain lifestyles that are

controlled, ordered and fragmented.

The Ordering of Time and Space

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I argue above that the diametric opposition between

work and leisure is buttressed by an ideological belief in

the actual and normalized fragmentations of these spheres

that, ultimately, results in alienated life. This

ideological normalization stems from and is sustained by the

project of modernity that has attempted to order and control

the social. In particular, the two social spheres of time

and space have been subjected to a process of intense

organization. My contention here is that life has become

fragmented and alienated through the stringent control of

both time and space.

According to Kevin Hetherington, a desire for increased

profits has utilized the "factory model" to intentionally

reorder both time and space (1997: 111, 123, 135). This

model allows the working day to be dependent on the

measurement of time, rather than on the measurement of

specific tasks as it was previously (1997: 23). This

imposition of quantified and objective understandings of

time on the worker has allowed the capitalist to control the

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precise amount of time that said worker performs labour in

order to also control (i.e. maximize) the amount of profit

that is acquired. However, the capitalist must also

simultaneously control the space in which labouring takes

place in order for such impositions of time to be successful

(Hetherington, 1997: 123).

Importantly, the ordering project of modernity has not

been restricted to the control of time and space within the

workplace. Hetherington explains that "The factory re-

ordered working space, just as it re-ordered working time.

But its ordering effects went well beyond this: communities,

cities and regions, indeed nations, were re-ordered by the

factory....as well as...the very being of humans"

(Hetherington, 1997: 111).

This re-ordering of both time and space is a

demonstration of power and control that has attempted to

homogenize the ways in which these two realms are understood

and practiced and, in so doing, control or eliminate

difference therein (Hetherington, 1997: 23). Not unlike the

previous example of the imposition of quantified and

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"objective" time on the immediate and localized process of

labouring, the attempt to order and homogenize time and

space on a macro-level is simultaneously an attempt to

control or eliminate variance and spontaneous difference. In

order to understand the nuances of these processes I now

turn to an examination of time and space within the ordering

project of modernity under capitalism. I also discuss

several individuals and groups that have intentionally

rejected this imposed re-ordering so that they may practice

time and space in ways that are less fragmenting and,

therefore, less alienating.

Time

According to Alberto Melucci (1989: 103), everyday time

under the organizing project of modernity within capitalism

is experienced in relation to two reference points: first,

the machine, and second, a finalistic cultural orientation.

Melucci argues that the machine creates a new dimension of

time; one that is artificial and objective. This artificial

and objective understanding of time is imposed through the

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use of the clock, a process that negates the subjective

experience of perceived rhythms due to its homogenizing

nature (Melucci, 1989: 103). Therefore, the use of a

machine, the clock, to homogenize and "objectify" time, not

only trumps understandings and experiences of circadian

rhythms, but also enables the simultaneous quantification

and commodification of time itself. In so doing, the clock

correlates understandings and practices of time with the

epistemological leanings of commodity exchange. As explained

by Melucci (1989: 103), time "is a universifiable measure

which permits the comparison and exchange, by means of money

and the market, of performances and rewards, Time is a

measurable quantity...which is based upon instrumental

rationality."

According to Melucci the second reference point through

which time is experienced is a finalistic cultural

orientation. In other words, "Time has a direction and its

meaning derives from a final point" (Melucci, 1989: 103). If

time has been objectified and homogenized, as demonstrated

by the use of the clock to impose artificial time, then it

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is aligned with the ordering project of modernity under

capitalism. Therefore, this finalistic cultural orientation

is arguably the absolute ordering and homogenization of the

social so as to enable widespread control.

John Urry also critiques "clock time" and its

imposition on what he calls "kairological time," or an

intuitive and learned understanding of time that draws on

past experiences to determine when future events will or

should occur (2000: 112). Here, clock time has foisted

itself upon experiential memories (the past) to interfere

with immediate understandings (the present) that determine

possible actions (the future) by preemptively deciding that

an event will take place at a certain predetermined and

quantified time (Urry, 2000: 112). In so doing, clock time

not only homogenizes experience, but it also necessarily

subjects understandings and practices of past, present and

future subjective experiences to an "objective" and

artificial paradigm.

Urry lists several crucial characteristics of clock

time that are worth mentioning here:

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-The disembedding of time from meaningful social practices and the apparently natural divisions of nightand day, the seasons and movements of life towards death.-The precise timetabling of most work and leisure activities. -The orientation to time as a resource to be managed rather than to time as activity or meaning. -The widespread use of time as an independent resource that can be saved and consumed, deployed and exhausted.-The synchronized time-disciplining of schoolchildren, travellers, employees, inmates, holiday-makers and so on. (Urry, 2000: 129).

Similar to Melucci and Urry's claims that homogenized

clock time has been imposed upon individuals as part of an

organizing project, Lefebvre (2004) also argues that what

may be understood as natural rhythms have faced a similar

infliction. According to Lefebvre, what is needed is

rhythmanalysis, or a new science of rhythms that explores

the intricacies and nuances of the ordering impositions of

modernity. Rhythms, however, are not conceptualized here in

a colloquial manner. In a nod to the necessarily

interdependent nature of time and space, Lefebvre explains

that "Everywhere there is interaction between a place, a

time and an expenditure of energy, there is rhythm.

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Therefore: a) repetition; b) interferences of linear

processes and cyclical processes; c) birth, growth, peak,

then decline and end" (emphasis in original. Lefebvre, 2004:

15).

Lefebvre poses three hypotheses for rhythmanalysis.

First, time within the everyday is measured in two ways: by

fundamental, or natural rhythms and cycles, and by

quantified and imposed monotonous repetitions (Lefebvre,

2004: 74). Second, quantified time has been imposed on

natural rhythms such that the latter have been fundamentally

altered; "So-called natural rhythms change for multiple,

technological, socio-economic reasons... For example,

nocturnal activities multiply, overturning circadian

rhythms" (Lefebvre, 2004: 74).1 And third, quantified time

has become unified and monotonous, while simultaneously

serving a dividing and fragmenting function for all realms

1 Here, Lefebvre's assertions that the body and its rhythms have been fundamentally changed by the imposition of institutionally-informed rhythms is not unlike Foucault's biopolitics, or the ways in which the body has been fundamentally impacted and permanently changed by institutionally-enforced and generated modifications in an imposition ofthe surrounding habitat on the living (Foucault, 2008).

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of social life. Although time is homogenized, when different

tasks are allotted specific and distinct times in which they

must take place, homogenized time also becomes fragmenting.

Moreover, this process of fragmentation and differentiation

is not value-neutral. When tasks are differentiated and

fragmented, they are re-positioned in a hierarchical manner.

In this way, for example, work has become fragmented from

leisure, but it has also simultaneously become regarded as

more important, which demonstrates the value-laden

attributes of the process of fragmentation and division.

Rhythmanalysis emphasizes the importance of the body,

as a subjective unit of experience, when examining the

violence of imposed rhythms during the process of

organization and attempted homogenization. This process

takes place through a type of training, or what Lefebvre

calls "dressage" (2004: 39). Dressage not only perpetuates

rhythms by teaching individuals how to adhere to them, but

it also buttresses the desire to do so (while simultaneously

discouraging subversion) with an ideological understanding

of behaviours that are and are not acceptable (Lefebvre,

27

2004: 41). Ultimately, dressage, as a form of "rhythm

training" is an internalized form of control that lends

itself to the organization of time within everyday life

(Lefebvre, 2004: 75).

Ultimately, however, Lefebvre does not believe that the

internalized mechanisms of dressage have resulted in an

elimination of rhythmical difference and the complete and

totalized control of the social. On the contrary, Lefebvre

argues that the ontological nature of rhythms always already

precludes invariability; true rhythms are complicated and

necessarily produce difference through repetition (which

Lefebvre claims is a mathematical certainty, 2004: 6-7).

Because time in everyday life is both subjective and

objective, or both internal and social, there will always be

instances in which internal bodily rhythms do not agree with

imposed rhythms, a conflict that may lead to what Lefebvre

claims is a "dispossession of the body" (Lefebvre, 2004:

75). This conflict between the biological and physiological

and the social can cause stress within the body itself such

that antagonistic schisms are inevitable and result in an

28

inability to guarantee stability. These inevitable forms of

difference and instability necessarily negate homogeneity

and complete order within the social (Lefebvre, 2004: 81).

By stepping outside of the epistemological

understandings of ordered time as purported by modernity,

Lefebvre claims that real time is created not through a

totalizing imposition of order, but rather, through the

antagonisms and conflicts that result from an attempt to do

so (2004: 9, 78, 79). The complex rhythms of the body and

thus, of the social, when confronted with imposed homogenous

time, react in such a way that complete order is implausible

due to the inevitability of turbulence and schisms (2004:

78). Such complexity may be understood by examining what

Lefebvre identifies as the three categories of time within

the study of rhythms: the cyclical, the linear and the

appropriated (2004: 30, 76).

The cyclical, which has larger and less complex

intervals than the linear, "originates in the cosmos, in the

worldly, in nature" and thus, may be understood as natural

time (Lefebvre, 2004: 30, 76). In contrast, linear

29

repetitions originate from social practice and human

activity, such as impositions of homogenized time. They are

short repetitions that are created by "the monotony of

actions and of movements [and] imposed structures"

(Lefebvre, 2004: 8, 30). Cyclical and linear repetitions

overlap to form a type of relativistic and antagonistic

unity, an often dominating and compromising struggle, and a

complex interplay that is, in essence, time within the

everyday.

Finally, the third category, appropriated time,

although discussed only in passing by Lefebvre, is arguably

of great importance. According to Lefebvre, appropriated

time is

a time that forgets time, during which time no longer counts (and is no longer counted). It arrives oremerges when an activity brings plentitude, whether this activity be banal, subtle, spontaneous, or sophisticated. This activity is in harmony with itself and with the world. It has several traits of self-creation or of a gift rather than of an obligation or an imposition come from without. It is in time; it is a time, but does not reflect on it (emphasis in original.Lefebvre, 2004: 76-7).

30

What is striking about appropriated time is that it is

achieved with the performance of an activity, and when this

performance is able to overcome the imposition of

homogenized and quantified ("counted") time on the act of

doing. It is unclear if appropriated time, as a type of

"time within time," exists outside of, within, or in a

marginal realm in relation to the antagonistic unity of

cyclical and linear time. However, the harmony and lack of

obligation found within manifestations of appropriated time

do demonstrate that, wherever this appropriated time exists,

it necessarily does not concede to the ordering project of

imposed efficiency and rationality that stems from linear

repetitions. Therefore, appropriated time introduces and

conceptualizes a temporal space for harmony and fulfillment

either within or adjacent to the antagonistic unity of

cyclical and linear time. Lefebvre's assertion of

appropriated time within the study of rhythms demonstrates

that although the modernizing project has attempted to

order, control and homogenize time, there is necessarily

always already variance therein. Moreover, this variance and

31

difference sometimes manifests in spaces that enable the

pursuit of "self-creation" through fulfilling and non-

alienated activities, an assertion that draws a crucial link

between appropriated time and the development of species-

being.

Reactions to the imposition of homogenized and highly

controlled time on circadian, or natural, rhythms have

resulted in the formation of groups such as the Slow Food

Movement. By combining food, slowness and mindfulness,

members of the Slow Food Movement have emphasized the

relationship between the practice of slowness and bodily

pleasure; and, in so doing, they have adopted what they

believe is an ethical stance towards time and its

relationship to the preparation and consumption of food

(Parkins and Craig, 2006: 18-9, 140). The preparation of

quality food "takes time," and often results in meals that

are both healthier and more enjoyable (Parkins and Craig,

2006: 140).

Members of the Slow Food Movement realize that such

practices present a practical critique of the importance

32

given to speed, efficiency and fragmentation within the

modernist project of ordering under capitalism. As described

by Parkins and Craig, "speed is seemingly equated with

efficiency and professionalism, however, slowness can be an

alternative set of values or a refusal to privilege the

workplace over other domains of life. To declare the value

of slowness in our work, in our personal life, in public

life, is to promote a position counter to the dominant

value-system of 'the times'" (2006: 1). Therefore, the Slow

Food Movement has situated its ethical everyday practices

within a critique of the macro-scale project of ordering. In

so doing, they have provided an example of an alternative

and more sustainable way of being and practicing time by

refusing to accept the imposition of homogenized and

objective time on activities within the everyday. In this

manner, such practices are a form of deliberate subversion

within a social world that has been highly and intentionally

ordered (Parkins and Craig, 2006: 39). This ordering

project, as it has been simultaneously imposed on space, has

encountered similar acts of subversion, which I now discuss.

33

Space

Similar to time, space has also been subjected to the

process of ordering in an attempt to obtain control through

imposed hegemony. The desire for this hegemonic control has

resulted in the "objective carving out" and structuring of

understandings and conceptualizations of space that have

generated actual, or ontic, controlled and ordered physical

space. This connection between the believed and practiced,

or the conceptual and actual, plays an important role in the

subversion of the homogenizing and ordering project. When

space is understood or conceptualized in a divergent manner,

it is able to be practiced differently and, perhaps, in ways

that are not congruent with the ordering project. Therefore,

the introduction of difference, even of differential

understanding, through mobility across and through space, or

through contact with alternative conceptualizations of

space, threatens to challenge the ordering of ways in which

space is understood and practiced. I elaborate below.

34

Lefebvre claims that the production of space involves

the interplay of the following three concepts: spatial

practice, representations of space and representational

spaces (1991: 33). Spatial practice results in space itself

through social relations and interactions, which are

informed by representations of space (Lefebvre, 1991: 33).

Representations of space are the conceptual and ideological

ways in which space is understood as an abstract concept

within the ordering project of capitalist modernity. As

discussed above, because abstract conceptualizations of

space result in spatial practices, these representations of

space are ultimately responsible for the ways in which space

is created and ordered, and the relations of power therein.

Specifically, because representations of space are imbued

with ideological and conceptual assertions of space that

stem from the ordering project of capitalist modernity, they

partake in the process of creating space that reproduces

these specific interests and power relations (Lefebvre,

1991: 33).

35

Finally, representational spaces are margins that have

not been subjected to the ordering project due to its

necessarily incomplete nature (Lefebvre, 1991: 39). The

ontological nature of representational spaces not only

provides a place in which alternative, or less-/non-ordered,

practices of space may occur, but through its existence,

also highlights and provides a critique of the normalization

of the ideological power structures at play in the

production of space under capitalist modernity (Lefebvre,

1991: 39).

Importantly, it is the interplay between spatial

practice, representations of space and representational

spaces that results in the actual production of space under

capitalist modernity. Spatial practices are behaviours and

social interactions that result in the ordered utilization

of space and, thus, manifestations of space. Hegemonic

understandings of space, or representations of space,

buttress and perpetuate ordered spatial practices. However,

divergent and critical representational spaces provide a

challenge to the assumed totalizing nature of hegemonic

36

representations of space that may, ultimately, impact

spatial practices and, thus, space itself through the

recognition of alternatives. Therefore, Lefebvre's

contentions concerning the production of space not only

confirm the always already incomplete nature of the

homogenizing and ordering project, but also draw attention

to the crucial differentiation between abstract

conceptualizations and understandings of space and the

actual practice of space in the search for alternatives.

Similar to Lefebvre, Hetherington also notes the

existence of marginal spaces, or what he calls "uncertain

zones" and heterotopias (1997: 18). However, in contrast to

Lefebvre’s assertions concerning the critical and

transformative potential of representational spaces,

Hetherington (1997) argues that, on the contrary, such

spaces may actually be viewed as crucial elements of the

ordering project of modernity. In an attempt to order and

control the social, the allocation of divergent behaviours

and practices to a marginal space allows for their

controlled existence outside of other non-marginal space.

37

Separating these carnivalesque or deviant behaviours from

the everyday, and then designating a specific space for

their practice only further buttresses the project of

modernity as it, for all intents and purposes, controls

deviance that would otherwise have the potential to subvert

total control within ordered space (Hetherington, 1997: 8).

Although the function of these spaces, as sites for

"controlled deviance" lends itself to the modernist project

of ordering, the internal nature of these spaces themselves

is fundamentally incongruent with the rest of social space.

This incongruency manifests in differing ways of

understanding and practicing freedom and control, in which

freedom that is understood as lacking within the external

ordering project is plentiful in marginal heterotopic spaces

(Hetherington, 1997: 8, 11). Not unlike Lefebvre's

representational spaces, Hetherington's heterotopias

"challenge our perceptions of space as something certain and

fixed" by demonstrating the possibilities of alternate

orderings of space (1997: 18). By challenging normalized

assumptions concerning the ordering of space, heterotopias

38

not only reveal, but also confront the relations of power

and control operating within the social world (Hetherington,

1997: 23). Their ability to draw attention to the power

relations within any given space is possible through their

ability to highlight differences, to demonstrate how a space

controls, disciplines and orders, and to show how resistance

to that order can lead to transgressive freedom and change

(Hetherington, 1997: 139). In other words, Hetherington's

heterotopias may be understood as strikingly similar to

Lefebvre's representational spaces, but with a particular

emphasis on manifestations of control and freedom as they

relate to marginal and, thus, also dominant spaces. However,

the necessarily controlled and situated marginality of

heterotopias is problematic in attempts to achieve

widespread transgressive freedom.

For Hetherington, control takes place through ordering,

which is an active "performance context" (1997: 35). Space

is ordered through the processes and ways in which it is

utilized (which, again, echoes Lefebvre's understanding of

the production of space through spatial practices). By

39

controlling uses of space through the creation of

boundaries, and simultaneously homogenizing understandings

and conceptualizations therein, freedom is limited to the

extent that mobility is restricted both within and to

certain spaces. If, as discussed above, the strict control

over space involves "carving out" space and creating

boundaries so that meaning and understandings within a space

have the potential to be homogenized, then actions or

practices that transgress boundaries allow for the potential

to create new meanings. Thus, mobility, as an active way of

performing space by transgressing boundaries and normative

homogeneous assumptions and conceptualizations, has the

potential not only to subvert existing power structures that

have ordered space, but also to create new spaces with new

meanings. If Hetherington's marginal uncertain zones, or

heterotopias, ultimately serve the ordering project of

modernity by allocating deviance to specific spaces, then

they do not contribute to the creation of real transgressive

alternatives that provide a substantial threat to the

ordering project of modernity. However, the practice of

40

mobility, which necessitates the introduction of difference

into spaces, allows the differing practices and

understandings of space and freedom found in marginal spaces

to be introduced and expanded to controlled, or non-

marginal, spaces. In this manner mobility presents a real

challenge to the ordering project of modernity under

capitalism. Therefore, mobility is a key factor in the

dissemination of differing understandings and practices of

space in the attempt to achieve transgressive alternatives.

De Certeau (1984) also discusses the connection between

mobility and differing understandings, and thus, practices

of space. In particular, De Certeau explains the ability,

while walking through the city, to break down and unpack the

normalized meaning behind space so as to provide said space

with new meaning (1984: 103, 105). In this way, mobility

within a space allows one to "invent spaces" (De Certeau,

1984: 107). However, upon the suspension of movement, or

mobility, said spaces are again subjected to preexisting

ordering power structures that will attempt to recuperate

them into a totalizing project (De Certeau, 1984: 106).

41

Therefore, an awareness of mobility through space as a

continued process proves to be a crucial component of an

understanding of the control of spatial practices and their

subversion.

Similarly, Ole B. Jensen calls for "critical mobility

thinking" which is a way of understanding mobility within

space as a subjective experience through which to politicize

the everyday (2009: 154-5). This epistemological stance

involves a type of bodily-focused sense-making while moving

through space that necessitates "meaningful engagement with

the environment" (Jensen, 2009: 154). Here, Jensen's

privileging of the corporeal in meaning making challenges

the ordered and imposed

nature of not only space in capitalism, but also the foisted

nature of linear temporal rhythms, while creating new mobile

spaces in which this "meaningful engagement with the

environment" is possible.

Likewise, the Situationist International, a group of

social revolutionaries associated with the 1968 uprising in

France, also recognized the importance of mobility as a

42

practice that has the potential to subvert ordered and

controlled understandings and practices of space. They

demonstrated this idea through the utilization of two

tactics that are worth mentioning here: subversive

cartography and dérive.

According to David Pinder, the practice of subverting

cartography involves a process that demonstrates the

impositions of power involved in map-making as an

"objective" activity (1996: 407). This is achieved through

the creation of alternative maps of the same physical space

depicted in customary cartographic representations in which

less ordered, and more subjective and visceral experiences

are included (Pinder, 1996: 420). Similarly, by challenging

the imposition of control that is achieved with efficiency

and order, dérive, or "a technique of rapid passage through

varied ambiences" involves the act of drifting with

"antideterministic liberation" through an ordered space so

that normalized ideas and practices of

43

space and mobility are undermined (Debord, 2006: 1-2).2

Therefore, the tactics of both subversive cartography and

dérive challenge the normalization of controlled spaces,

which are ordered and structured so as to perform a specific

and efficient purpose (such as a street that extends from

point a to point b, and connecting point a to point b is

understood to be its purpose), and in so doing, allow for

the creation of new spaces through the practice of mobility.

I have attempted to demonstrate that the practice of

mobility can be subversive and disruptive to social control

and ordering. Through mobility, space can be practiced by

groups and individuals in a way that introduces difference

into controlled spaces and, thus, disrupts the project of

ordering and homogeneity. This confrontation, however, has

often resulted in the stigmatization of mobility as a

practice, particularly when it is performed by individuals

of different socio-economic backgrounds. Historically, this

2 See also Monty Python's Ministry of Silly Walks and the "Annual Silly Walk March" in Brno, Czech Republic as examples of "inefficient" spatialpractice. (Monty Python's Flying Circus. Episode 14 "Face the Press". 1970. and Silly Walk City March in Brno (2013). Retrieved on November 2nd, 2013 from: http://klutzy.net/silly-walk-city-march-in-brno-2013/ )

44

unfavorable reaction to travellers who embrace mobility as a

lifestyle is apparent in stereotypes of the gypsy. According

to Hetherington, such stereotypes and stigmas are "a

testament to this fear of the travelling, displaced vagrant"

in an attempt to maintain homogeneity and social order

(1997: 64).

Similarly, the New Age Travellers, who have adopted a

nomadic and bohemian lifestyle in Britain, also transgress

symbolic and often invisible boundaries into "forbidden

areas" such as private spaces and Stonehenge, which has,

unsurprisingly, resulted in public outrage and the attempt

to reinforce order through imposed boundaries (Hetherington,

2000: 49, 133). The Travellers, however, intentionally

oppose these boundaries through their alternative uses of

space and, in so doing, demonstrate what they believe is an

ethical stance with their nomadic lifestyles (Hetherington,

2000: 66). Such an ethical stance, they believe, provides an

ontological example of different, or alternative ways of

being and practicing freedom that are at odds with the

controlling mechanisms of popular culture and society under

45

modernity and capitalism (Hetherington, 2000: 7, 66).

Hetherington explains that the travellers understand their

life to be a "simple...nomadic way of life, which release[s]

them from many of the pressures and (for them) unwarranted

commitments of everyday routines" (2000: 7). Therefore, for

the Travellers, mobility offers a lifestyle that enables

spatial freedom as an alternative to the ordered and imposed

control of fixidity. This way of performing space through

mobility not only challenges the attempt to order and

homogenize time and space, but also the fragmentation of

spheres of life through routines therein. Importantly, by

creating an alternative lifestyle with different understandings

and practices of time and space, these individuals, like

those belonging to the Slow Food Movement, have been able to

significantly decrease the temporal and spatial constraints

of alienated life.

To summarize, I have attempted to demonstrate that

fragmented and alienated life is sustained and buttressed by

the control and ordering of time and space within modernity

under capitalism. Therefore, different, or alternative,

46

understandings and practices of time and space that

challenge imposed rhythms and boundaries allow for the

creation of alternative lifestyles, such as those

demonstrated by members of the Slow Food Movement and the

New Age Travellers, which may be more conducive to the

development of species-being and, thus, the free practice of

unalienated activity.

The Freedom to Create

Franco "Bifo" Berardi has written extensively on the

impact that capitalism and modernity have had on the soul,

or "the vital breath that converts biological matter into an

animated body" (2002: 21). He argues that the soul has been

inflicted with maladies such as panic, anxiety and

depression (Berardi, 2009: 135). In particular, Berardi

elaborates on panic and depression by claiming that panic

stems from a feeling of being overwhelmed with constant and

infinite stimulus (2009: 100). Panic is spurred by the chaos

that is "an environment too complex to be deciphered by the

schemes of interpretation we have at our disposal" (Berardi,

47

2009: 126). Depression is the inevitable collapse and lack

of meaning that results from such constant chaos and the

inability to maintain a stringent level of competitiveness

in an increasingly fast-paced world that emphasizes

individualism and exchange-value at the expense of the soul

(Berardi, 2009: 102).

By drawing on Félix Guattari, Berardi argues that art,

as the ability for an individual to impose his or her will

on the immediate surroundings, is an excellent "temporary

organizer of chaos," or chaoid, that may be an important

tactic with which the chaos and resulting panic of modernity

under capitalism may be negated (2009: 135). In this way,

Berardi explains that art may be a therapeutic healing tool

when the soul is faced with imposed chaos that leads to

panic and may ultimately result in depression. Art and

creativity allow for a slowing down, and a reprioritization

of the enjoyment of life through "the liberation of time for

culture, pleasure and affection" rather than the constant

and overwhelming competition for monetary profit (Berardi,

2009: 219). Therefore, art as a therapeutic chaoid not only

48

allows an individual to directly impact the world around him

or her and reorder something tangible, but it also allows

for a reordering of priorities that give precedence to the

soul and enjoyment. Art provides an epistemological shift

that can

change the focus of [an individual's] depressive attention, to re-focalize, to deterritorialize the mindand the expressive flow. Depression is based on the hardening of one's existential refrain, on its obsessive repetition. The depressed person is unable togo out, to leave the repetitive refrain and s/he keeps going back into the labyrinth. The goal...is to give him/her the possibility of seeing other landscapes, to change focus, to open new paths of imagination (Berardi, 2009: 216).

The importance of the imaginary and the potential for

art as a therapeutic chaoid is reinforced by Ellen

Dissanayake's claim that there exists a universal impulse to

make and create (1988: 7). This impulse manifests in what

she explains is the process of "making special" (1992: 40).

She argues that humans gain pleasure from making something

that was considered ordinary into something special with

their hands (1992: 42; 1995: 3). As explained by

Dissanayake:

49

There is an inherent pleasure in making. We might call this joie de faire (like joie de vivre) to indicate that there is something important, even urgent, to be said about the sheer enjoyment of making something exist that didn't exist before, of using one's own agency, dexterity, feelings and judgment to mold, form, touch, hold and craft physical materials, apart from anticipating the fact of its eventual beauty, uniqueness, or usefulness (1995: 3-4).

Thus, the pleasure of creating, or giving into the

creative impulse, involves several factors: creation with

one's capabilities, control over the process of creating,

corporeal and emotional sensations, and the absence of

concern for the exchange value or commodification of the

final created product. Interestingly, when we juxtapose the

creative process that Dissanayake describes with Marx's four

types of alienation it becomes clear that the process of

creating is necessarily unalienated. Importantly, in

Dissanayake's creative process, the individual has control

over the product and process of labour. The creative impulse

involves producing by expressing one's faculties towards the

world around him or her, physical and emotional satisfaction

and enjoyment from the process of creating, a lack of the

influence of another party in determining the end result of

50

the created product and, finally, a lack of separation or

commodification of said product from the worker as it is not

produced as a means to an end but, rather, for the

fulfillment inherent in the process of production.

The ability of an individual to express him or herself

through activity that impacts the creation of his or her

surroundings is an expression of species-life, which, as

discussed above, when performed repeatedly results in the

achievement of species-being. Therefore, not only is art as

a creative activity therapeutic in its ability to negate the

panic and depression that stems from modernity under

capitalism, as demonstrated with Berardi's utilization of

art as a therapeutic chaoid and the comparison of

Dissanayake's description of the process of creation to

Marx's alienating relations of production, but it also lends

itself to the development of human fulfillment, or species-

being.

Time, Space, Mobility and Unalienated Lifestyles

51

Thus far this review of the literature has examined

alienation and the ways in which fragmented and alienated

lives, which do not allow for the free expression of the

creative impulse, are buttressed by the control and ordering

of time and space within modernity under capitalism. In

particular, linear and quantified "clock time" has been

imposed on kairological, or cyclical, time and natural

rhythms. Similarly, space has been ordered and controlled

such that understandings and practices of alternatives have

been relegated to the margins, a differentiation that, I

have attempted to demonstrate, may be subversive when it is

coupled with mobility, or the introduction of difference

into various spaces. Importantly, a

recurrent theme throughout this analysis has been the

necessarily interconnected nature of the epistemological and

the ontological, the believed and the practiced, or the

conceptual and the actual. By examining the ordering and

controlling ways in which time and space are understood, one

is able to alter the ways in which they are practiced and,

in so doing, create alternatives that are not subjected to

52

the ordering and imposed nature of controlled time and

space. Examples of such alternatives have been provided with

discussions of the Slow Food Movement and the New Age

Travellers.

Although members of the Slow Food Movement and the New

Age Travellers have given us partial understandings of such

alternative practices and lifestyles, they are lacking in

their ability to simultaneously address all of the facets of

unalienated life that have been discussed here. Therefore, I

now turn to Hakim Bey's (1990) Temporary Autonomous Zone,

which explicitly addresses and fuses time, space, mobility

and creativity, while also providing a zone in which they

may be understood and practiced concurrently in an

alternative manner. Crucially, while allowing for the fusion

of these alternative practices these zones also

intentionally challenge power-laden epistemological

assumptions and normalized ontological practices, and the

relationship between them.

Temporary Autonomous Zones

53

Hakim Bey has described Temporary Autonomous Zones

(TAZs) as alternative spaces that provoke a type of

"ontological anarchy" which challenges the normalization of

epistemological understandings that are buttressed by

modernity under capitalism (1990: 1). Bey has intentionally

avoided defining the TAZ itself so as to avoid the

construction of political dogma, but also so that he is able

to "fire off exploratory beams" with differing

understandings of the TAZ that allow for a more inclusive

project in the search for alternatives (1990: 2). He does,

however, mention several elements that must exist in a space

in order for it to be conducive to the manifestation of a

TAZ. These are negative critiques and positive

alternatives, demonstrations of psychic nomadism, the

ability to freely engage in creative expression, and the

rejection of psychic imperialism. The identification of

these elements conducive to the germination of a TAZ takes

place through a psychotopology, or the practice of "dowsing

for potential TAZs" (Bey, 1990: 5). I now turn to a

discussion of the TAZ, after which I explain four of the

54

elements that must exist in a space for it to be conducive

to the manifestation of a TAZ.

The TAZ's critique of the everyday within modernity

under capitalism strikes at normalized conceptualizations

and ideas that buttress ordered control and a lack of

freedom. As explained by Bey, the TAZ is like

... a guerilla operation which liberates an area (ofland, of time, or imagination) and then dissolves itself to re-form elsewhere/elsewhen... Babylon takes its abstractions for realities; it is precisely within this margin of error the TAZ can come into existence...its greatest strength lies in its invisibility ... As soon as the TAZ is named (represented, mediated), it must vanish, it will vanish, leaving behind it an empty husk, only to spring up again somewhere else, once again invisible because undefinable in terms of the Spectacle. The TAZ is thus a perfect tactic for an era in which the State is omnipresent and all-powerful and yet simultaneously riddled with cracks and vacancies ... The TAZ is an encampment of guerilla ontologists: strike and run away ... The strike is madeat structures of control, essentially at ideas [and] begins with a simple act of realization (1990: 4).

Therefore, the guerilla ontology of the TAZ necessarily

takes the controlling and ordering mechanisms of time and

space to task by challenging the ways in which they are

understood and practiced (through ideas, ie- epistemological

foundations). This challenge allows the TAZ to create

55

alternative understandings and practices of time and space

in the margins, or "cracks and vacancies," that are

necessarily inherent in the always already incomplete

ordering project. By moving between such marginal spaces,

the TAZ is able to be situated in an ontic, although

temporary location in both time and space. In this way, its

necessarily temporary and mobile nature means that it

transcends the mechanisms of control inherent in these

areas, and is "freed from time and place" (Bey, 1990: 6, 9).

Its strength lies in this mobility, or its "air of

impermanence, of being able to move on, shape shift, re-

locate to other universities, mountaintops, ghettos,

factories, safe houses, abandoned farms -- or even other

planes of reality" (Bey, 1990: 2). The TAZ's mobility and

"air of impermanence" both enables and necessitates the

practice of

"keep[ing] on the move and liv[ing] intensely" (Bey, 1990:

20). Thus, the TAZ allows for alternative understandings and

practices of time and space, as both are simultaneously

performed during the practice of mobility from one marginal

56

space to another in ways that challenge the ordering and

controlling project.

According to Bey, the first element required for a

space to have the potential to manifest a TAZ is a negative

critique coupled with a positive alternative. Because the

TAZ is an alternative, and as such, is necessarily

reactionary to and divergent from another way of

understanding and being, Bey explains that a space which may

spur a TAZ must demonstrate a negative criticism of the

current paradigm that requires the construction of an

alternative, while this positive alternative must

demonstrate the unalienated activities and pursuits that may

exist within an alternative and liberated space (1990: 2).

Simply put, a negative critique of "reality" encourages and

allows for the creation of a positive alternative.

The second element required for a potential TAZ is the

epistemological freedom that is demonstrated through psychic

nomadism, which is attainable through mobility. Bey explains

that the adoption of alternative practices of space through

mobility may by practiced by and take the form of

57

gypsies, psychic travellers driven by desire or curiosity, wanderers with shallow loyalities (in fact, disloyal to the "European project" which has lost all its charm and vitality), not tied down to any particular time and place, in search of diversity and adventure (Bey, 1990: 7).

Alternative practices of mobility, such as those

demonstrated by Bey's gypsies, psychic travellers and

wanderers, allow for psychological liberation from

normalized conceptualizations and understandings through

"psychic nomadism." Bey defines psychic nomadism as

a de-centering of the entire "European" project, open[ing] a multi-perspectived post-ideological world view able to move rootlessly from philosophy to tribal myth, from natural science to Taoism -- able to see forthe first time through eyes like some golden insect's, each facet giving a view of an entirely different world(1990: 7).

For Bey, Psychic nomadism, through its explicit and

open-minded examination and adoption of alternative

epistemologies, may be viewed as a type of "virus" that

introduces difference into that which has been subjected to

the ordering and homogenizing project (1990: 8). Therefore,

psychic nomadism as an epistemologically variant "virus"

produces a space that may be compatible to the manifestation

58

of a TAZ not only because psychic nomadism requires

mobility, but also because it necessarily challenges

understandings of time, space, and "reality" while

simultaneously providing multiple alternatives.

The third element necessary for the potential

manifestation of a TAZ is the freedom of creative

expression. Bey argues that true and meaningful art has been

suppressed, but that it may be realized within liberated

zones. He explains that

the only solution to the suppression ... of Art lies in the emergence of the TAZ. I would strongly reject the criticism that the TAZ itself is "nothing but" a work of art ... I do suggest that the TAZ is theonly possible "time" and "place" for art to happen for the sheer pleasure of creative play, and as an actual contribution to the forces which allow the TAZ to cohere and manifest (1990: 23).

Importantly, although Bey argues that the performance

of art "for the sheer pleasure of creative play," or what

are completely unalienated demonstrations of creativity, may

only take place within the TAZ itself, he also explains that

creativity and art are required forces for the emergence and

manifestation of the TAZ. Therefore, creative expressions must not

59

only be present in potential spaces, but they are also

fundamentally necessary for the potential germination of a

TAZ.

Finally, the fourth element that Bey expresses is

necessary for the

inception of the TAZ is a lack of psychic imperialism.

Similar to the Situationist International, Bey claims that

the "objective" project of ordering and controlling through

cartography, or "the closure of the map," is never truly

complete, and that autonomous zones and margins always exist

(1990: 5). Importantly, however, Bey believes that these

autonomous and marginal spaces are both physical and mental

(1990: 5). Therefore, the project of ordering has not only

failed to completely control the tangible, but it has also

failed to completely colonize the mind and its

understandings of time, space and liberation through the

process of psychic imperialism (1990: 5).

Bey believes that some individuals have willingly

accepted the epistemological assertions of the project of

modernity under capitalism, and in so doing, have been

60

subjected to the mental dominance of psychic imperialism.

However, those who have demonstrated more reluctance and

reflexivity have noticed the power relations at play in

these assertions, and thus "know in what ways we are

genuinely oppressed, and also in what ways we are self-

repressed or ensnared in a fantasy in which ideas oppress us"

(emphasis in original, Bey, 2009: 24). Thus, individuals

that have evaded psychic imperialism to the extent that they

realize its controlling, oppressive and repressive

mechanisms, also have the mental space available that is

required for the manifestation of a TAZ. This mental space

is identified through the process of psychotopology, or the

search for "spaces (geographic, social, cultural, imaginal)

with the potential to flower as autonomous zones " (1990:

5).

Psychotopology

This review of the literature has examined the

alienating and fragmenting ways in which time and space have

been ordered in such a way that, ultimately, imposes a type

of violence on the ability to achieve fulfillment through

61

the practice of unalienated activity such as expressions of

creativity. Moreover, I have also argued that due to the

fragmenting nature of hyper-ordered "reality" under

modernity and capitalism, what are needed are unalienated

lifestyles in which time, space and mobility are both

understood and practiced differently. Importantly, however,

such unalienated lifestyles require a space in which they

may take place; a space that necessarily challenges the

epistemological assumptions, and thus ontological practices

of the ordering project of modernity under capitalism. Such

spaces that may be conducive to these lifestyles, and also

encourage their practice on a larger scale, are TAZs.

However, at this time, the literature does not contain

information concerning alternative lifestyles that have the

potential to germinate a TAZ. These spaces of possibility

may be identified through the implementation of Bey's

psychotopology.

This study has therefore taken up the task of "dowsing

for potential TAZs," with a psychotopology of the lifestyles

62

of nomadic artisans in Mexico (Bey, 1990: 5).3 Importantly,

however, the objective of "dowsing for TAZs" through a

psychotopological investigation is not to identify where a

TAZ does or does not exist. A misleading attempt to do so

would be complicated by the fact that Bey has intentionally

not defined nor conceptualized the TAZ, because to claim

that one has found a TAZ and, in so doing, name it as such,

always already strips said TAZ of its power for liberation

as it is then subjected to normative epistemological

understandings and conceptualizations. Therefore,

psychotopology does not attempt to identify existing TAZs,

but rather, to "look for spaces with the potential to flower as

autonomous zones" (emphasis added, 1990: 5).

3 Discussions of alternative lifestyles often lend themselves to descriptions of counter- or sub-cultures. However, these terms are problematic insofar as they assume homogeneity not only inside the boundaries of their groups, but also within a diametrically opposed other, or "mainstream", to which, in practice, they may not actually be all that opposed (Hetherington, 2000: 33). The likening of counter- and/or sub-cultures to the TAZ is problematic due to the necessarily incomplete nature of the homogenizing and ordering project, without which the TAZ, and thus spaces of potential where it may manifest, wouldbe impossible. Moreover, Bey addresses the lack of ontological similarity that the TAZ shares with understandings of counter- and/or sub-cultures because of the positive liberation (and its affiliated non-alienated activities) offered by the TAZ in contrast to "the mundanity of negativity or counter-cultural drop-out-ism" (1990: 25).

63

Bey has addressed several factors with which these

spaces of potential may be identified during the performance

of a psychotopology: the diametrically opposed, but mutually

interdependent negative critique of a "reality," and

positive construction and practice of an alternative,

demonstrations of psychic nomadism, the free performance of

creative activity, and the rejection of psychic imperialism.

Thus, in order to perform a psychotopology of the

lifestyles of nomadic artisans in Mexico I examine the

following questions: How do these artisans both understand

and practice time, space, and mobility as part of an

alternative lifestyle, and what are the negative critiques

and positive alternatives that take place therein? Do these

understandings and practices allow for the free expression

of creativity, and what is the relationship of these

expressions of creativity to alienation, or a lack thereof,

within this lifestyle? And finally, are there demonstrations

of psychic nomadism and rejections of psychic imperialism

within these understandings and practices?

64

Chapter 3

Methods

The objective of this study is to address a gap in the

literature concerning examples of alternative lifestyles

that are congruent with Bey's (1990) assertions of the

spaces that may enable the germination of a TAZ. The

examination of a potential TAZ is attempted here though a

psychotopology of nomadic artisans in Mexico. In particular,

this study is guided by the following questions: How do

these artisans both understand and practice time, space, and

mobility as part of an alternative lifestyle, and what are

the negative critiques and positive alternatives that take

place therein? Do these understandings and practices allow

for the free expression of creativity, and what is the

relationship of these expressions of creativity to

alienation, or a lack thereof, within this lifestyle? And

65

finally, are there demonstrations of psychic nomadism and

rejections of psychic imperialism within these

understandings and practices?

I begin this chapter with a discussion of nomadic

artisans in Mexico that have adopted alternative lifestyles

so as to provide the reader with background information

concerning the individuals that have participated in this

study, and the spaces and practices in which this

psychotopology will take place. I then situate my own

experience with this lifestyle within this discussion so as

to acknowledge my involvement with these individuals, which

strongly influenced my decision to perform this study.

Following this discussion is a broad overview of the

methodology and recruitment of participants. I then provide

a summary of the demographic characteristics of the

participants and explain the data collection strategies.

Further, I provide a more detailed explanation of and

rationale for the conduct of the study and describe the

interview questions and data analysis procedures. Finally, I

66

conclude with an examination of the strengths and

limitations of the study.

Conceptualizing The Alternative Lifestyles of Nomadic Individuals in Mexico

In present-day Mexico there is a nomadic lifestyle that

has been practiced by individuals who are often referred to

as "la banda," which roughly translates as "the gang."4

Members of la banda travel across Mexico (usually by

hitchhiking) and along the way are able to sustain

themselves through a number of creative practices. The three

most popular of these practices are making and selling

jewelry (with precious stones, macramé, silver and copper

wire, leather, and an assortment of other materials both

bought and found) often on the street, in markets or in

restaurants when permission to do so is granted, performing

circus-like stunts such as juggling (known in Mexico as

"malabares"), fire shows, contortionism, miming, or "extreme

hula-hooping" (with several hula-hoops on fire) in the

4 "La banda" also exists and travels in other countries (particularly inLatin America), although several participants expressed that this lifestyle is most prevalent in Mexico.

67

street or in other temporary venues (stoplights,

restaurants, hotels), and finally, playing musical

instruments (to sometimes, although not always, accompany

the aforementioned performances) such as djembes, dun duns,

accordions, guitars, violins, bongos, xylophones, flutes,

berimbaus, and harmonicas on busses, streets

and in invited venues such as restaurants and hotels (See

appendix A.1.).5

These jewelry-making artisans, street performers and

musicians tend to frequent similar areas of Mexico that they

have heard of from other individuals who practice similar

lifestyles. The frequency with which these areas (and their

respective experiences) are discussed among la banda is so

recurrent that it could be argued that there exists what may

be a Mexican version of the "Hippie Trail" of the 60s and

70s that charted a route across Europe, Asia, India and

5 After a great deal of searching I was unable to find any academic literature on "la banda, " but I did come across an excellent personal narrative called The Urban Circus: Travels With Mexico's Malabaristas by Catriona Rainsford (2013) in which she describes two years that she spent living and travelling with "la banda" (which, based on my understanding, are individuals highly comparable to those addressed here). Her incredibly accurate and skilled description of the quotidian realities of these individuals necessitates an acknowledgement of her work here.

68

Nepal, but instead is particular to these individuals in the

present-day and focuses on areas like the jungles and

mountains of Chiapas, the beaches of Jalisco, Nayarit and

Quintana Roo, and several northern states that encompass

desert regions. Also of importance is that, due to the

nomadic and easily identifiable alternative nature of such

lifestyles and practices, it is very unlikely that these

individuals will arrive in one of these areas without, at

least at some point, encountering another artisan, performer

or musician that they know, or that knows someone with whom

they are acquainted.

The incredible amount of variance found within what is

understood as la banda is something of a conceptual

nightmare for the sociologist attempting to not only

conceptualize, but also operationalize alternative practices

and lifestyles therein. These difficulties are further

compounded by the narratives of individuals that, although

they participate in these practices and often associate

themselves with those who do identify as members of la

banda, do not themselves identify as such. In particular,

69

individuals who partake in similar practices that do not

identify themselves as members of la banda have primarily

fallen into two categories: first, they are not from Mexico

and they identify with a similar group in their own country,

instead of la banda, for various reasons such as a lack of

congruent beliefs or values concerning conduct within the

everyday of such lifestyles. And, second, some individuals

who partake in this lifestyle through the aforementioned

activities, and sometimes even in tandem with individuals

who do self-identify as members of la banda, identify

themselves as solo travellers and beings and, as such, do

not consider themselves to be part of any group, even one as

fluid as la banda.

An important question that I addressed in interviews

with such individuals was how they themselves conceptualize

and understand this group (if it is even fair to assume

enough cohesion among such individuals to call it a group).6

6 Although results of the interviews are typically not discussed until after the methods section, in this particular situation, it is helpful to bring participants' narratives into a discussion of the conceptualization of individuals who lead such lifestyles so as to avoidimposing a conceptual idea of who this "group" is in the attempt to describe them to the readers.

70

Among those who do believe that there is a group, some of

the responses I received were, of course, la banda, but also

la familia (the family), un tribu (a tribe), roladores

("rolling" travellers), gitanos (gypsies), el colectivo (the

collective), el colectivo por el acción de unión mundial

(the collective for united world action- for the more

politically-inclined), una raza (a race), and finally, a

network. Importantly, however, many of the above terms do

not exclude, but on the contrary, are often used in tandem

with the term "la banda" to address other artisans,

performers and musicians. Ultimately, then, although la

banda is a common and colloquial term often used to describe

such individuals who partake in these practices and

alternative lifestyles in Mexico, and as such is necessary to

discuss here, it is not an entirely appropriate conceptual

definition for this study due to its imposed cohesion and

(for some) values and beliefs. Therefore, in an attempt to

explore a facet of such lifestyles in a more controlled

manner, I have allowed this study to focus specifically on

71

nomadic artisan (or, jewelry-making) individuals who have

adopted alternative lifestyles in Mexico.

To qualify for this study, and in agreement with the

above discussion of the three popular practices of

individuals who lead such alternative lifestyles, artisans

must sell jewelry that they themselves make with at least

one of the following materials: stones, string, leather,

wire, copper and/or silver, in at least one of the following

areas: the street, markets or other (sometimes) authorized

areas (such as restaurants). Moreover, they must have

utilized this practice to support travels within Mexico, at

least on one occurrence, if not on an on-going basis. 7

It is also important to note, however, that due to the

nature of these lifestyles and practices, although the focus

on artisans as jewelry makers provided this study with a

solid conceptual and operational basis, eight of the

fifteen, or more than half of the individuals I interviewed,

also practice some type of performative art (like fire-

7 Such requirements, in addition to the particular sampling methods thatI discuss later in this chapter, allowed me to identify and exclude other Mexican artisans that did not have a commitment to an alternative lifestyle that is aligned with that which I have discussed.

72

juggling) or a musical rendition during their travels, with

which they also identify (although to varying degrees). I

stress the importance of simultaneous identifications with

such varying facets of this alternative lifestyle in part

due to my own experience. Before I embarked upon this study,

I had previously spent two years (cumulatively) partaking in

this lifestyle in Mexico. Specifically, I was a type of

amateur artisan who made jewelry that I sold on the streets

of Jalisco and Nayarit, a practice that I supplemented with

playing my guitar on sidewalks and city busses. Both

practices were equally crucial to my adoption of this

lifestyle, involvement with other artisans, performers and

musicians, and, therefore, played a decisive role in my

ability to travel with them in the nomadic performance of

this lifestyle. Moreover, such personal experience played a

key role in my decision to perform this study and the ways

in which I did so, a process that I now explain.

Study Overview

73

Because it had been several years since I last

participated in this lifestyle, I embarked upon the study by

contacting a fellow artisan I had previously travelled with

to inquire about the current nomadic patterns of such

individuals. He suggested that I visit San Cristobal de las

Casas in Chiapas and from there make my way to El Panchan, a

bohemian camping spot popular with the artisans that is

located just outside of the town of Palenque and about five

hours away from San Cristobal. This visit occurred in

November and December of 2012.

I identified two nomadic artisan individuals (by

drawing on the criteria discussed above and my previous

experience) within my first several days in San Cristobal

who became the key informants for the entirety of the study.

I approached them while they were selling jewelry and

practicing malabares in the zocalo of San Cristobal and

discussed my previous experience with the group and the

current study; they expressed interest and agreed to

participate. Moreover, these two individuals also had plans

to make their way to El Panchan, and invited me to accompany

74

them several days later, at which point I began the process

of participant observation by travelling and living with

them and other artisans, participating in everyday

activities and taking fieldnotes. The process of data

collection through participant observation and the

performance of seven semi-structured interviews in Chiapas

ended in late December after which I returned to Canada.

Soon thereafter it became clear that I had run into

some serious conceptual problems with "la banda" (which I

discussed above) and would need to return to Mexico to

perform further fieldwork in order to crystallize the

parameters of the study with the input of these individuals. I was

also concerned about the number of interviews that I had

been able to perform and hoped to seek out more. To resume

the study I contacted my two key informants in February of

2013 and met them in the fishing village turned surf-town of

Sayulita in the state of Nayarit, where they were then

staying. This second period of data collection lasted only

two weeks in which I was able to perform another eight

interviews, engage in several discussions with my key

75

informants and other participants about the study and, in so

doing, re-focus the study specifically on nomadic artisans

that practiced this alternative lifestyle instead of

attempting to inclusively address artisans, performers and

musicians.

Therefore, in total, this study involved fifteen semi-

structured interviews with nomadic artisans as well as

participant observation during which I lived, travelled and

partook in everyday activities alongside the artisans. 8 To

recap, the interviews and participant observation took place

in the city of San Cristobal de las Casas, the town of

Sayulita and the camping spot of El Panchan in the Mexican

states of Chiapas and Nayarit between November and December

of 2012 and again in February of 2013.

In an attempt to work within the confines of the

relaxed and "go with the flow" lifestyles of the artisans, I8 As I have stated here, participant observation involved living, travelling and participating in everyday activities with these individuals. However, I intentionally did not participate in the sellingof jewelry. My previous experience with this group allowed me to understand that to do so could potentially inhibit my ability to be (as easily) accepted into the group, as I may be seen as a type of competition (regardless of my severely lacking artisan skills in comparison to the incredibly talented individuals that participated in this study).

76

allowed each participant to choose the time and place of his

or her interview which resulted in an intriguing assemblage

of interview experiences. The locations chosen by

participants were a rooftop, a cabana and waterfalls in the

Lacandon Jungle, excavated and unexcavated Mayan ruin

archaeological sites, an abandoned new-age temple, the

beach, restaurants, an outdoor market and, on several

occasions, on the curb of a sidewalk behind the artisan's

puesto, or makeshift shop. The interviews themselves had

varying durations with the shortest being twenty minutes

long, and the longest just exceeding an hour and a half. All

were performed in person, thirteen in Spanish and two in

English, audiotaped, and transcribed by myself upon my

return to Canada. The transcriptions were then coded and

analyzed, a process that I supplemented with my notes from

participant observation.

Recruitment of Participants

77

Three types of nonprobability sampling were utilized

for this study: snowball sampling, purposive sampling and

convenience sampling. Snowball sampling, or a technique

through which one participant identifies other potential

participants, and so on, was an informal method that was

initially practiced with the help of my key informants

(Singleton and Straits, 2010: 178). In several instances,

these two individuals introduced me to other artisans and

even took it upon themselves to set up interviews when I was

not present. Some of the participants identified by the key

informants then suggested other artisans for me to talk to,

whom they usually introduced me to if we were not already

acquainted. Due to the very social nature of these

lifestyles (as such artisans often spend a great amount of

time working in close proximity to one another and

travelling together), word of the study spread quickly in

both Panchan and Sayulita to the point that three

participants approached me themselves to request that they

be interviewed due to their interest in the study. Because

this was an exploratory study, snowball sampling was

78

particularly helpful insofar as it allowed artisans to

identify others that they believed were relevant for the

study and, in so doing, assist in providing a sample that

they themselves as artisans believed was representative of

their lifestyles.

The second type, purposive sampling, or "a form of

sampling [in which] the investigator relies on his or her

expert judgment to select units that are representative of

the population" and that "aim to represent a wide range of

perspectives and experiences" was utilized in the

recruitment of participants for several interviews, but

became particularly useful in the town of Sayulita

(Singleton and Straits, 2010: 173; Boeije, 2010: 36). Due to

particularly lax regulations for street vendors, the town of

Sayulita is something of a hub for artisans. The large

number of artisans that have congregated in the town has

resulted in their fragmentation into three notable groups

that sell their wares in different and distinct areas of the

town. I was able to observe these divisions through my

participant observation, and with purposive sampling

79

intentionally sought out and performed interviews with

individuals from each of the three areas.

Finally, convenience sampling, or selecting

participants that are simply conveniently available

(Singleton and Straits, 2012: 173), was often utilized in

conjunction with purposive sampling so as to identify

artisans from different age groups, nationalities, of

differing genders and that utilized different techniques in

their work. This combination of convenience and purposive

sampling allowed for a type of homogeneity amongst the

participants to the extent that they all fit the criteria

required for the study, but also allowed me to address

heterogeneity among different artisans by intentionally

seeking out variance within said criteria.

Due to the participatory nature of my involvement that

allowed me to spend a great deal of time with these artisans

on a daily basis, convenience sampling often took the form

of interviewing one artisan and then subsequently setting up

an interview with the artisan that happened to have his or

her stall next to the initial participant (or was in the

80

vicinity for some other reason). Naturally, artisans that

observed others being interviewed (usually at a bit of a

distance to allow for some privacy, at the discretion of the

participant) inquired about the study, which provided me

with an opportunity to invite them to participate. Overall,

the recruitment of participants was not problematic. On the

contrary, the majority of participants expressed quite a bit

of interest in the study and indicated that they were

pleased that it was being performed.

Description of the Participants

As discussed above, in order to be eligible to

participate in this study, participants must sell jewelry

that they themselves make with at least one of the following

materials: stones, string (usually a specific kind from

Brazil), leather, wire, copper and/or silver9, in at least

one of the following areas: the street, markets or other

9 These particular materials were used by nomadic artisans who practicedalternative lifestyles, in contrast to other vendors who, for example, sold jewelry that they did not make themselves, or certain indigenous artisans that performed intricate beadwork. In fact, the trade of such materials (in particular semi-precious stones) amongst these nomadic artisans is worthy of a study of its own.

81

(sometimes) authorized areas (such as restaurants). Also,

they must have utilized this practice to support travels

within Mexico, at least on one occurrence, if not on an on-

going basis.

Of the fifteen individuals who participated in this

study, five were women and ten were men. They varied in age

from nineteen to fifty-seven years old. Eight were Mexican

citizens and seven were from countries in other parts of

North America, South America, Central America and Europe.

These individuals had been living and travelling as nomadic

artisans for varying amounts of time, the shortest being one

year and the longest forty. Three descriptors of

participants that are typically addressed but that were

particularly delicate during the process of this study are

educational level, socio-economic status and "race."

Firstly, when I asked participants about their level of

education, the majority told me the amount of time that they

had spent in formal education. A minority (six), however,

disputed the question and challenged its inherent

conceptualizations (in particular "level of education") by

82

explaining that there are numerous types of educational

experiences that one can attain and not all are limited to

what is understood as formal education (which is an

excellent critique of institutionalized and ethnocentric

experiential conceptualizations). Second, socio-economic

status is not a descriptor that would have made much sense

for this study, since such nomadic artisans often live

simply and modestly (although some may have more economic

resources than others, the typical conceptualizations of

middle and upper class were not transferable to this

context). Finally, the category of "race" which is always

already a socially-constructed and thus relational and

contextual descriptor is necessarily complicated by the

context of Mexico, its colonial past and the international

backgrounds of these individuals. Moreover, the contextual

nature of such descriptors makes their transference into a

Canadian context (such as that required for this thesis)

complicated (for example, a person that is considered

"black, "white" or "blonde" in Mexico may not be in Canada).

Therefore, I instead asked individuals to express if they

83

identified with any cultures or groups (such as indigenous

groups, etc.). When explicitly relevant to the study at

hand, these identifications are addressed in the results

chapter. A table of descriptive information of the

participants has been included below.

Table 3.1 Participants' Descriptive Information (at time of interview)

Pseudonym10 Age Gender Country ofOrigin

Length ofTime

Living asa NomadicArtisan(Years)

Vianne 28 F England 4Edu wifies 37 M Spain 1

Rasta 30 M Mexico 12Pezuña 30 M Mexico 15

Coatl ZintContreras 32 M Mexico 17

Kolibri 22 F Mexico 6Pakal 25 M Mexico 10

10 For confidentiality reasons pseudonyms have been used. Participants were given the opportunity to choose their own pseudonym, although not all accepted in which case I assigned one.

84

Payaso 19 M Mexico 4Eliza 46 F Germany 10Caito 23 F Argentina 1

Cigarra 25 M ElSalvador 3

Ánima 30 F Canada 5Formacio 23 M Mexico 6Francisca 40 F Spain 5Changoleon 57 M Mexico 40

Data Collection: Interviews and Participant Observation

The objective of this study, a psychotopological

investigation of the lifestyles of nomadic artisans in

present-day Mexico, required an examination of the ways in

which these artisans understand and perform time, space,

mobility and creativity, and the critiques and incentives

that have led to these understandings and practices.

Furthermore, due to the alternative nature of these

lifestyles in which time, space and mobility are understood

and practiced in what is arguably a divergent manner, the

interviews also required a bit of background information on

each participants' understanding and rejection of

traditional, or more ordered and controlled ways of

practicing time, space and mobility.

85

Interviews therefore began with several questions

concerning demographic and background information, and then

progressed to a series of questions regarding personal

identity and values. This led to an assortment of questions

about life as a nomadic artisan, such as where they obtained

the idea to pursue this lifestyle and what first attracted

them to it. This was followed by several comparative

questions that encouraged participants to describe their

lifestyles, and if they believed that such lifestyles were

"alternative," to elaborate and explain how. For example,

"How is your life as a nomadic artisan different now than it

was before you decided to live this way?" I then asked

participants about daily routines and future plans. Finally,

I concluded the interviews with an opportunity for each

participant to share his or her thoughts, criticisms or

anything that they believed was important but had been left

out (See Appendix B for the interview questions).

The interviews were informal, but semi-structured which

allowed me to pursue conversational threads that were of

interest and pertinent to the study objectives as they

86

arose, but still ensured that I was able to address certain

pre-selected topics that were of particular relevance. The

casual nature of the interviews was necessary as there were

often interruptions, particularly when the interview took

place near the artisan's puesto, or stand, so that they were

simultaneously working and occasionally tending to

customers. Also, the nature of my involvement with this

group -- that I had also been spending quite a bit of time

with many of the artisans during participant observation and

outside of the interviews themselves -- meant that

conversations or events that had occurred previously were

sometimes referred to during the interviews. My fieldnotes

were incredibly helpful in these occasions as they often

(although not always) allowed me to have both a record of

my understanding of these events, and an audio recording of the

participant's as well. In some situations this allowed me to

informally cross-reference events to ensure that I had not

been imposing my understanding on an event or discussion

and, in so doing, enhance my understanding of the ways in

87

which some of these artisans themselves understood their

surroundings and the events therein.

Because the process of taking fieldnotes is a

necessarily subjective undertaking, and I was more

interested in understanding how these individuals themselves

understood and practiced that which they found meaningful,

the majority of my notes attempted to relay "what had

happened" as clearly and candidly possible. In so doing, I

summarized key points of conversations, and described events

and routines. However, I do recognize that such summaries

and descriptions are never "objective," and therefore, in

order to avoid imposing my understandings of events on the

process of data analysis as much as possible, I gave

precedence to the narratives obtained through interviews,

and only occasionally supplemented them with my

observations, as recorded in fieldnotes, in the findings.

Data Analysis

As explained above, I allowed the narratives obtained

through interviews to provide the majority of the data for

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this study and only occasionally supplemented them with

personal observations from my fieldnotes and understandings

that were garnered during the process of participant

observation. More importantly, because I was interested in

the ways in which these artisans themselves understand and

practice time, space and mobility, the interviews allowed me

to directly involve the narratives of these individuals so

that their own voices became the focus of this study.

After I transcribed these narratives, or interviews, I

analyzed them by allowing recurring themes to surface

inductively through the process of coding. Four dominant

codes quickly emerged: time, space, mobility and creativity.

I utilized these as higher-level codes in a hierarchical

coding scheme through which sub-codes emerged. This process

involved creating "coding trees" that allowed me to discern

the various sub-codes belonging to each of the four higher-

level codes (Boeije, 2010: 110). In order to perform a

psychotopological investigation, I then analyzed these "code

trees" for negative critiques and positive alternatives

within the artisans' divergent practices of time, space and

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mobility. I also analyzed performances of creativity and the

ways in which these appeared to be restricted or enabled by

relationships to the other three higher-level codes.

Finally, I examined all categories for demonstrations of

psychic nomadism and the avoidance of psychic imperialism.

My experiences through participant observation were

particularly important during this coding process as they

allowed me to draw upon the contextualized nature of these

narratives, and in so doing situate them within what I

believed were the correct locations of the coding scheme.

For example, there is a great amount of slang and jargon

that is utilized by these artisans that have specific and

contextual meanings. When these were utilized for emphasis

during the interviews, I was able to understand what they

meant, but also the syntactic ways in which they impacted

the meaning behind the narrative. Without participant

observation, through which I learned to refine my

understandings and use of this slang, I may not have been

able to understand and code the narratives obtained through

the interview process accurately.

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Rationale for Methodology

As discussed above, the importance of the narratives of

these artisans that were obtained through the interview

process in an attempt to gain access to their personal

understandings and the practices of their lifestyles, cannot

be understated. Therefore, the inclusion of semi-structured

interviews, which allowed me to address issues crucial to

the objectives of the study but also attempted to allow the

artisans a great amount of freedom in the divulgence of

their narratives, was necessary for the objectives of this

research.

Moreover, the ability to obtain data concerning the

understanding and performance of alternative lifestyles as

practiced by these individuals required participant

observation for two reasons. First, in order to secure

interviews with these individuals I was required to "meet

them on their terms," a practice that necessitated the

adoption of similar lived rhythms. For example, the laidback

nature of such lifestyles made the scheduling and

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performance of interviews a relaxed process that would have

been frustrating and inhibiting (for both the participants

and myself) if I had rigorously imposed practices of space

and time on the proceedings (such as an inflexible time and

date that may have caused the participants to feel

pressured). Moreover, the nature of participant observation,

in that I was "always around" allowed for such flexibility

and the prioritization of other non-mechanical rhythms

during the scheduling and performance of interviews, a

reality that these individuals have adopted. Therefore, the

experiences and knowledge that I gained through participant

observation (and my previous experience) allowed me to adopt

the lifestyle practiced by the artisans for a time so as to

understand the nuances of social interactions and

proceedings therein that enabled my ability to request and

secure the interviews that were crucial for this study.

Second, participant observation was necessary for my

ability to gain entree into this group. Although, as

mentioned above, these artisans tend to be sociable with

outsiders (indeed this is usually required for their line of

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work as vendors), concerning inter-group social nuances and

proceedings, and personal lifestyle practices, the ability

to gain access to information and certain activities is

highly restricted. Simply put, because of the stigmatization

and harassment that such individuals often face within

Mexican society, due to their practice of alternative

lifestyles, they are often skeptical of outsiders. In this

regard, when I first met my key informants I intentionally

explained my past involvement in similar activities so as to

gain their acceptance. Thereafter, my connection to these

two individuals was a determining factor in my ability to be

accepted by artisan individuals in both Panchan and

Sayulita, particularly the ease and almost immediate manner

in which this acceptance took place.

Strengths and Limitations of the Study

Due to the conceptualization challenges (that I

discussed at the beginning of this chapter) and the

nonrandom process of participant recruitment, the findings

of this study are necessarily non-generalizable to a larger

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population. However, the objective of the study is not to

generalize, but rather, to examine the particularities of

the narratives of these individuals that relate to their

personal understandings and practices of an alternative

lifestyle. Moreover, given the unknown parameters of those

living as nomadic artisans in Mexico (some claimed that

there are hundreds of individuals participating in this

lifestyle, an assertion that does not contradict my

observations), I am more interested in attempting to

represent the narratives of the particular individuals that

participated in this study as honestly and accurately as

possible.

Although the recurrent themes of time, space, mobility

and creativity notably surfaced in each and every interview,

there were both subtle and substantial differences amongst

the discussions of these themes by each artisan. However, I

am confident that theoretical saturation was achieved

insofar as the coding categories of the aforementioned

themes required for a psychotopological investigation were

addressed such that the data eventually failed to create new

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sub-themes within these higher-level codes. This saturation

allowed the data to sufficiently fill out the necessary

theoretical categories.

Several other limitations may have resulted from my

particular characteristics as a white, non-Mexican female

researcher. Due to these descriptors, and therefore the

necessarily contextualized nature of my position that was

always already present in each and every situation that I

observed and participated in, I may have been granted and/or

denied access to particular information, situations and

individuals, which may have impacted the results of this

study. Similarly, my connection to my two key informants

also necessarily played a role in my relationship to these

artisans, as such relationships were, for all intents and

purposes, often mediated by the ways in which said

informants were viewed by other artisans.

By the same token, however, I prefer to view the

rapport that I established with my key informants and other

artisans throughout the process of this project as

invaluable strengths. By maintaining a situation of open and

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continuous dialogue I was able to partake in numerous

discussions with artisans about the study, their criticisms,

feedback and suggestions, and also the ways in which I could

alter my own interactions with the artisans so as to enable

more open communication and access more research

opportunities. For example, my key informants were principal

instructors of my "rhythm training" that allowed me to more

authentically adopt the lifestyle of these artisans and,

therefore, to be more accepted by them throughout the course

of the study and the process of data collection.

Chapter 4

Results

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The objective of this study is to perform a

psychotopology of nomadic artisans in Mexico so as to

identify whether or not their alternative lifestyles may be

conducive to the manifestation of a TAZ.11 I allow the

following questions to guide this process: How do these

artisans both understand and practice time, space, and

mobility as part of an alternative lifestyle, and what are

the negative critiques and positive alternatives that take

place therein? Do these understandings and practices allow

for the expression of creativity, and what is the

relationship of these expressions of creativity to

alienation within this lifestyle? And finally, are there

demonstrations of psychic nomadism and rejections of psychic

imperialism within these understandings and practices?

11 It is important to mention that the term "lifestyle" and its variations may be used in a number of different ways, each with their respective theoretical nuances. For example, Lefebvre (1995) makes a crucial distinction between the "style of life" as a traditional and communal-based mode of existence, and present-day commodified "lifestyles" that are highly intertwined with hyper-stimulation and the individualistic "cult of the interesting" (Gardiner, 2002). However, theparticipants in this study explicitly used the term "lifestyle" when describing their realities, and I have therefore done the same here.

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Several important themes that surfaced during the

process of data analysis were, of course, time, space,

mobility and creativity, but also epistemological freedom,

and the exemplary impact of an alternative lifestyle. These

themes and subthemes are elaborated upon below. Ultimately,

the results show that the lifestyles of these nomadic

artisans may be conducive to the manifestation of a TAZ.

However, the subjective intentions of each individual

artisan and his or her desire to participate or not

participate in a TAZ would undoubtedly be a determining

factor considering whether or not a TAZ may actually

develop.

Time

A common theme within discussions of time is the slow

and relaxed pace of life as a traveling artisan. When

describing the pace of their everyday lives, seven of the

fifteen artisans explicitly use terms like tranquil,

peaceful or relaxed. Eleven of the fifteen participants

describe personal control over time within their everyday

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lives due a lack of a routine or schedule, which allows them

to perform, or not perform activities at their own pace

(such personal control was not mentioned by the remaining

four participants). As explained succinctly by Caito, "When

you control your time, you control your life."

Artisans often compare this slow and relaxed pace of

their lifestyles to the frantic speed of their previous

experiences under imposed time. For example, Ánima, a female

artisan who spends half of the year in British Colombia,

Canada, and the other half working as an artisan in

Sayulita, Mexico, explains that

"When I'm [in Sayulita] I'm really relaxed. I walk slower, I don't take things personally, there's just nostress. There's no "I need to do this, I need to do this!" [rushed and frantic]...I feel really released inmy life from things that people feel repressed by, likethe rat race. I am so far from being in the rat race right now it's, you know, it's...wonderful."

Therefore, not only does Ánima reject the imposition of

strict clock time on the cyclical rhythms of her everyday

practices, but she actually allows such cyclical rhythms to

dictate her travel patterns, and thus lifestyle practices.

She explains that "ever since I've been eighteen, I've lived

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my life by the seasons" and allows said seasons, as natural

rhythms, to determine when she moves. Her decision to give

precedence to kairological time and natural cyclical rhythms

is a crucial part of her lifestyle as an artisan that is, in

many aspects, incompatible with the rigid ordering and

homogenizing project of modernity.

Two other artisans, Pakal and Formacio, also discuss

the importance of natural and instinctive rhythms and

understandings of time. By drawing on his knowledge of the

Mayans' cyclical understanding of time, and using this to

inform his own practice of time while also critiquing

mechanized clock time, Pakal explains that "The Mayans

looked up to see the stars in the sky rather than at a

television or a clock. Unfortunately, humans no longer look

at the stars to see what's happening in the system around

us." Similarly, Formacio emphasizes the connection between

cyclical rhythms and nature, and explains that both have

been overlooked with the imposition of mechanized linear

time:

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"We [the artisans] are in contact with the earth; we are in contact with the spiritual part of man more thanthe majority of people that have their jobs to do everyday and normally have a routine. And they forget, no, about this spiritual part, but they remember it when they're on vacation, when it's Sunday and they have time for themselves. So we [the artisans] always have time for ourselves and we are always more in contact with this spiritual part than other people."

These excerpts from the interviews demonstrate that the

artisans privilege kairological and natural rhythms over

imposed and mechanized understandings and practices of time.

In so doing, they create alternative ways of being and

living through which they practice time differently by

moving slower, taking their time to perform activities, and

allowing natural rhythms to be liberated from the imposition

of clock time. Moreover, this precedence that is given to

subjective natural rhythms or kairological time appears to

sometimes enable the practice of appropriated time, or a

"time outside of time" that is achieved during the

performance of creative activity. Caito, Edu wi fies and

Ánima all describe situations in which they have experienced

appropriated time. Caito's narrative suggests that her lack

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of a daily routine allows for the realization of

appropriated time,

"I wake up whenever I wake up because I don't have a watch. Then I stay lying down until I feel like it's time to drinka coffee or something, and if I feel like weaving [making jewelry], then I weave, and I can do that for hours until I have the desire to do something else [emphasis added]."

Edu wi fies discusses the importance of giving precedence to

natural rhythms during the process of creative production,

and how this too can enable appropriated time,

"You do what you want to do [in this lifestyle]. For example, I haven't worked on my art for almost two weeks because what I've made recently hasn't been of quality. Most likely it will change in a 'click!' and I'll have a lot of ideas and need to produce art. The interesting part of producing art is when you get an idea. When you get an idea it's like time stops. You forget to eat and you work for many hours until you finish. And when you've finished it's very satisfying; it's a unique process."

Finally, and similar to Edu wi fies, Ánima describes

her experience of appropriated time as "Making things that

you love. I mean, sometimes I'll sit at my house and I'll

make jewelry for like eight hours without getting up,

without having a glass of water, without smoking a

cigarette. And I love it! I lose track of time."

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The importance that the artisans place on the relaxed

and natural practice of time, especially given its

significance for their creative processes, becomes clear as

they provide critiques of its diametric opposition, imposed,

mechanized and ordered time.

In her interview, Caito explained her frustration with

the impact that imposed and ordered time has had on her

father's life. Her father's job is demanding and allows

little time for his passion, writing. When Caito has

encouraged him to pursue the latter, her father has said

that he intends to do so, but not until he retires and has

the time. Caito expresses the following in relation to this

conversation with her father,

"All of the people who work their whole lives spend their lives in the system, until the system says "ok, you are of no use to me now," and then they begin to enjoy life. That's why I say you never know what is going to happen tomorrow and what if I die tomorrow andI spent eight hours daily dedicated to people that don't care about me and pay me whatever they want? ... And in the end there's nothing left for me, I've died, and what did I do with my life?"

Therefore, Caito believes that her father's experience

of time in the everyday not only negates his ability to

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pursue his passion, but also fragments said passion and

postpones it to a later time, both of which are effects of

the ordered and controlled practices of time that she

critiques above.

Similar to Caito, who critiques the denial of enjoyment

that results from the fragmenting imposition of organized

and ordered time, another artisan, Francisca, also argues

that the relegation of enjoyable and personal activities to

a specific and controlled time is detrimental to human

dignity. She explains that, for her, such imposed practices

of time, in which you relinquish control over the temporal

aspect of activities, may result in an inability to choose

when you may perform personal acts. She discusses an

incident in which a former boss approached her desk and told

her "Go smoke a cigarette now." The situation left her

feeling stripped of her dignity, and resulted from an

inability to control the ways in which she practiced time,

and thus, the performance of activities therein.

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Space

Due to their nomadic practices the artisans are

frequently confronted with the organizing and controlling

project of space for three main reasons (none of which are

fundamentally mutually exclusive from the practice of

mobility). First, movement across space introduces a

traveller to boundaries and physical limitations that an

individual who is confined to one space may not be aware of.

Second, introduction to a new space in which an artisan may

not be familiar with spatial practice requires that he or

she learns of and adapts to said practices quickly. And,

finally, introduction to new spatial practices allows the

artisan to compare that which he or she has experienced in

the past to the present and, in so doing, select the

preferred space. This choice or conscious selection of space

may be impacted by the amount of organizing and control, or

lack thereof, within. I now elaborate on these three spatial

themes: spatial boundaries, practices of space and the

selection of space, and the relationship of each to control.

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During the interviews the theme of spatial boundaries

was often discussed. Intriguingly these boundaries are not

always understood as undesirable. In particular, several

artisans are concerned about the boundary between nature and

the city, and that the latter is unjustly imposing itself on

the former during the process of development. Cigarra

expresses an internal conflict over his role in this

boundary crossing as an artisan that uses precious stones in

his work. He claims that "The stones that we [the artisans]

sell, they come from the shitty mines that are ruining the

world, no. And they're, in some respects, working for us.

We're making them rich, we're part of their market." Cigarra

then explains that mining has had a largely negative impact

on the land in numerous Latin American countries, which has

also resulted in serious social injustices. Pakal also

expresses concern for the amount of development that is

taking place in Latin America, for which, he believes,

foreign interests are largely responsible. In this regard he

calls for a more strict enforcement of international

boundaries so as to protect Mexico's natural resources from

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foreign exploitation. He articulates a sentiment that is

also popular among indigenous peoples in southeastern

Mexico: "the land belongs to the people that work on it."

The artisans then discuss the impact that development

has had on nature and the ways in which this influences the

performance of their lifestyles.

The artisans' travel routes privilege rural, and sometimes

rustic, areas with natural beauty rather than cities and

more "developed" zones. For example, many artisans

congregate in the bohemian camping spot of Panchan in the

jungle in Chiapas rather than in the town centre of

Palenque, although the latter may provide more access to

both Mexican and international tourists and thus, increase

their chances of making a sale. Therefore, the emphasis that

many artisans place on nature conflicts with the development

that is happening at a rapid pace in Mexico. This

development, for Rasta, means that "the land itself is gone

and has been replaced by so much cement so that there are no

longer any natural places to enjoy." This process has

resulted in what Pakal, Rasta and Changoleon all call

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"Babylon," which is infringing on the natural spaces

available for the artisans to perform their lifestyles.

Intriguingly, although Pakal, Rasta and Changoleon all

call for a more stringent enforcement of borders by the

Mexican government so as to protect natural resources from

foreign exploitation, and the natural spaces for the

performance of their lifestyles from the encroachment of

"Babylon," there is also a desire expressed by some artisans

for the opening up of international borders to allow them to

travel more freely. 12 Both Pakal and Caito discuss the

constraints that international borders have had on their

ability to travel to other countries as part of their

nomadic lifestyles. Pakal explains the limitation of not

having a passport and how this has impacted his ability to

access other countries and spaces, and the financial and

12 Although simultaneous calls for both the strengthening and opening-upof borders by the artisans may seem contradictory, when these desires are situated within the political climate of neoliberalism and the global North’s exploitation of the global South, it is very apparent that this strategic opening and closing of borders has led to the benefit of the former at the expense of the latter. Therefore, the only consistency within this strategic exclusion from and simultaneous opening-up of space is the benefit of those who profit from neoliberalism, which makes the artisan's seemingly inconsistent understanding of borders appropriate.

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bureaucratic constraints in Mexico that may have hindered

his ability to even obtain said passport. Similarly, Caito

has the dream of travelling by land from Mexico to Alaska

before returning (also by land) south to her home country of

Argentina. She expresses a concern over the ability to

obtain a visa for the United States in order to have access

to the Pacific coast that would take her to Alaska.

It is not only international borders that the artisans

claim restrict them from space. The artisans explain that

they are also sometimes excluded from local spaces due to

discrimination. Similar to the New Age travellers in

England, who have been excluded from areas such as

Stonehenge, it is not uncommon for an artisan to have

experienced a situation in which stereotypes and

discrimination resulted in his or her inability to access or

enter a space. Seven, or almost half, of the participants

discuss incidents in which they encountered problems when

they attempted to access a space (such incidents were not

mentioned by the remaining eight participants). All seven

believe that their exclusion was due to their appearance,

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which they assume identifies them as individuals that

practice an alternative (and, in Mexico, often stigmatized)

lifestyle.13 Pakal, an artisan with long dreadlocks and a

large jade piercing through his nose, discusses an incident

in which he attempted to sell his wares on the street in the

city of Aguascalientes and was approached by a police

officer who told him, "We don't care where you came from,

but we don't have your kind of people in our city and we

don't want you here." The police were not aware that Pakal

is from Aguascalientes and was home visiting family. This

controlled exclusion, or inability to enter and occupy space

based on appearance, is a form of discrimination that

impacts many aspects of the artisans' lives such as where

they may sleep and dine, modes of transportation that are

accessible to them, and also the areas in which they may and

may not sell their wares.

13 Also of importance is the traditional indigenous clothing that many artisans use. Due to the deeply rooted racism that indigenous groups still face in Mexico, two artisans suggested that their dress and "indigenous appearance" may have also contributed to their exclusion from space.

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Although an inability to enter space due to boundaries

is frustrating for these individuals, the imposition of

spatial boundaries, as a demonstration of control, on

present and immediate practices of space is also a common

experience. Three of the fifteen participants discuss

incidents in which they have been taken to jail for selling

jewelry or juggling in the street. 14 Payaso explains the

panic that he felt in jail after being arrested for selling

his artwork in the streets of Mexico City,

"They took my freedom; it was total oppression. I was there all night, for thirteen hours, and without contact with my wife and son. They were worried! And just for selling jewelry; for selling bracelets to feedmy family!"

Similarly, Caito discusses her experience of being

arrested for juggling with fire at a stoplight in Tuxtla.

She expresses the great impact that this sudden removal of

14 Although only three of the participants discuss this in their interviews, it is very likely that quite a few of the artisans had spenttime in jail due to the stigmatized nature of their activities and lifestyles, and the need to partake in such activities (like selling jewelry in the street or juggling with fire at stoplights) that are not always legal in order to survive. Importantly, however, this experience is quite common and is not looked down upon in Mexico to the degree thatit may be in other countries such as Canada, particularly among the artisans themselves.

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freedom had for her, as someone who is used to living

without such constraints,

"I had no idea what they would do to me. To be enclosed, or rather ... all of the freedom that we lived, the travellers ... all of the freedom that we enjoy and that allows us to move ... and all of a sudden to be behind bars like an animal ... it was one of the worst sensations. I felt like they were, I don'tknow ... ripping out my soul. How can you enclose a person?"

Although the experience of being enclosed in a space was

clearly frustrating for both Payaso and Caito, it is not

uncommon to hear of an artisan that has also had his or her

artwork stolen by the authorities during this process. To

have their art stolen was incredibly insulting for these

artisans who often prided themselves on and strongly

identified with their work.

As discussed in the Literature Review, the exclusion of

difference in an attempt to control and homogenize space (as

demonstrated by the harassment of Pakal and the arrests of

Payaso and Caito) does not mean that the ordering and

controlling project of modernity is complete, but rather,

that there are always already non-ordered and uncontrolled

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marginal spaces. However, participation in these marginal

spaces, which are very much the realm of these nomadic

artisans, requires a certain amount of knowledge of situated

spatial practices therein.

With this knowledge, nomadic artisans have the ability to

strategically use space in such a way that they are not

subjected to the constraints of organized and controlled

spatial boundaries.

An example of the importance of knowledge of

spatial practice is provided by the three artisans Ánima,

Edu wi fies and Vianne. All three of these artisans explain

that previous travels have provided them with the knowledge

that it would be easier to find space to sell their wares in

Mexico than in their respective home countries of Canada,

Spain and England. The control of space in Mexico, although

not completely lax, is such that they would not be as

restricted in their spatial practices (such as selling

artwork) to the degree that they would be in their home

countries. 15

15 Particularly compelling is Vianne's description of her attempts to sell her hand-made jewelry in Brighton, England. After continually being

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In particular, Sayulita has become something of a hub

for artisans, as it allows them to sell their wares in all

areas of the city except for the main centre plaza. There is

even an official 'Calle de los Artesanos,' or 'Street of the

Artisans' where the majority of the artisans interviewed for

this project in Sayulita spend their days. Streets such as

la Calle de los Artesanos provide a type of marginal space

that has not been subjected in its entirety to the process

of ordering and control. Ánima explains that although the

Mexican government has attempted to impose control on la

Calle de los Artesanos by charging artisans that sell their

wares there 250 Mexican pesos per month for the use of the

space, the enforcement of this fee is lacking, and she

hypothesizes that only about twenty-percent of the artisans

have actually complied. This incomplete nature of control of

harassed by the police for selling her things from a blanket on the ground she discovered an old law concerning a peddler's license that would allow her to sell her wares so long as she did so from some sort of cart or vehicle that had wheels. She was then able to sell her thingsout of a modified bike with a carrying area. She claims "that was the official way with [my bike], and [the police] would still move me but I had wheels and a peddlers license" which ultimately made her actions legal. Importantly, Vianne's experience suggests mobility as a tactic when dealing with controlled and organized space, which is a crucial argument that I address in more depth later in this chapter.

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the streets is also described by the artisan Changoleon who

explains that "We [the artisans] share freedom in the

street, because there are no rules in the street. There is a

right to sell here." Awareness of the politics of space, and

thus, of the marginal spaces free from rigid control and

ordering such as la Calle de los Artesanos, allows artisans

to strategically situate themselves within what are the

margins of the ordering project so as to avoid its imposing

restrictions.

Finally, this awareness of spatial practice, as it

either constrains or enables alternative lifestyle

practices, also allows the artisans to intentionally choose

and select which spaces that they will inhabit. The ability

to choose where one will live and work (even if only for a

short while) is a crucial aspect of the artisans'

lifestyles. This process involves the selection of one space

over another and, as such, requires a comparative

understanding of spatial practice, and the values and

epistemological leanings that buttress such practices. With

this understanding artisans are able to decide whether or

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not the situated practices and values of a space are

conducive to the life that they would like to create. For

example, Vianne explains how her experience of living in

London, England and being enrolled in the College of Fashion

to study costume design was not aligned with how she views

herself and the lifestyle that she prefers,

"I've never considered going back and doing it again ... living again in that way. At the time, and still to this day, the thought of being ... the thoughtof living in that environment in London, it's just likeI'm not going to handle these people! Or this kind of atmosphere ... And, you know, the pace of that kind of living in London, and that whole area, fashion and culture and blah blah blah ... I think maybe they aren't going to be the people I'll sort of mix with, orthat it's superficial in some way."

Vianne then compares her current life in Sayulita to London,

V: "[Sayulita] is a place I feel secure in and it's easy to sell here. It's a good place ... I've never once regretted it, you know, the decisions that I've made. I sometimes stop and think, you know, what else do I want? And I've got everything that I want. When I was a teenager my dream was to travel and, you know, make money out of what I made. And it's like, I'm doingit! I'm doing what I always wanted to do which is bonkers. So I guess that now, the friends that I had that dream with, they've all ended up being a lot more conventional and, you know, living in London in a flat

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and doing exactly that, and I'm over here on the Pacific beach in Sayulita selling artesania."A.P: "With a [pet] parrot on your head."V: "With a parrot on my head! [both laugh]. Exactly! Which is a good place to be."

It is not uncommon for the artisans to describe a

situation or circumstance in a space that, ultimately,

motivated them to move to a different space. Similar to

Vianne, who left London because she did not feel that it was

conducive to who she is, Eliza, an artisan from West Berlin,

who has travelled throughout Latin America, also expresses

the process of personally detaching herself from the values

of the space of her home country,

"It was like a turning off, they say. To leave one lifeand begin another. To say yes to a new life, no. I feltvery young like a little girl. Like I had to learn to speak and I had to learn to walk again, but in another culture. I see it as my second life in this life. I felt that I had truly freed myself from many things belonging to the society that I grew up in. These were so many things that weren't mine, no. You leave them with time and you find yourself; you accept yourself. Ibecame closer to myself."

Others mention having left their home towns or

countries due to a lack of opportunities, and three of the

fifteen mention having left when they were young (between

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fifteen and seventeen) due to oppressive or harsh treatment

at home (it is particularly common for young females to be

highly controlled by their families in Mexico, a situation

that one participant explained was her incentive to leave).

The act of leaving a space, which may be influenced by

various factors such as those discussed above, allows the

artisans to intentionally and actively choose a space that

is more conducive to the lives and values that they desire.

However, the nomadic nature of these artisans' lifestyles

means that they may adopt beliefs, values and

epistemological leanings throughout their travels that are

not necessarily situated in any singular space. Kolibri

elaborates,

"I like the culture here [in Panchan/Palenque]. But theculture here teaches you certain things while other cultures teach you important things as well. So I believe that there are valuable things in all of them. I don't identify with just one, I keep an open mind andchoose what I like from each as I move from place to place."

Similarly, Coatl Zint Contreras explains that the

process of travelling has allowed him to come into contact

with spatially-specific indigenous knowledges, from which he

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has adopted several beliefs such as the importance of taking

el Camino Rojo, or the the Red Path. According to Coatl Zint

Contreras, el Camino Rojo is a

"Latin-American tradition. It's the path of the warrior, of light, of learning, of love of respecting the earth, and of salvation. It's red because we have the power and courage to take this path in our blood. This comes from our culture, no. The White Path can also be the path of light, no, but it's the path of theEuropeans so it's a bit ... [pause] ... different [laughs]."

Importantly, here, Eliza, Kolibri and Coatl Zint

Contreras have all been able to recognize and adopt

different values, beliefs and ways of understanding the

world that they have been introduced to through their

travels. This ability to openly examine, accept and adopt

differing epistemological stances (particularly those that

challenge the European project, such as el Camino Rojo) is

assertedly a demonstration of the psychic nomadism that Bey

claims is necessary in a space that may potentially

germinate a TAZ.

Mobility

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For the purposes of this study, I have used travel and

mobility interchangeably, as both entail movement across

space and through time. In an attempt to solicit the

artisans' thoughts concerning this part of their lifestyles,

all participants were asked "What does travel mean to you?"

The following themes emerge from their responses: travel as

a lifestyle, the ability to experience new things, strength,

control, freedom, liberation from "the system," and perhaps

most prominently, learning and epistemological shifts.

All of the fifteen participants express that travel is

something important to them. However, the aspects of travel

that each chooses to highlight differ and some express more

of a commitment to travel as a lifestyle choice than others.

When asked what travel means to her, Vianne explains that,

"It's pretty much everything. Yeah, the freedom of being able to travel, to see a place, to be here instead of, you know, the other side of the world ... Icall myself a traveller because its descriptive of the lifestyle that I lead. My dream is just to see as much as I can of the world."

Similar to Vianne, Edu wi fies also views his decision to travel as a lifestyle choice,

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"Travel has turned into (pause) ... it has turned into the way that I see life, no. It's like a way of life for me now. I wouldn't be able to adopt any other lifestyle. I've been traveling until now, and life, well sometimes things happen where you have to drastically change your course, no. But for the moment,yes, I'll keep travelling, learning, experimenting, andescaping the monotony."

Kolibri, too, explains the importance of viewing travel as away of life. For her,

however, doing so has taken both time and experience,"We all begin [travelling] because of distinct situations. In my case, I left home due to problems there and I learned to make bracelets, but I didn't really like making them at the beginning although I still did it to make money. And after that, when I began to really travel, I noticed that there were many things I could make that I enjoyed making. And that waswhen I began to understand this as a form of life, no, and something that I find fulfilling, too [emphasis reflective of tonality in interview]."

The decision to travel as a way of life provides the

artisans with certain benefits. For Edu wi fies, the benefit

of new experiences that he gains through travel allows him

to escape monotony. He elaborates,

"I'm always looking for new things, to experience new things. The profoundness of these experiences is how I escape the monotony ... I'll try various new things, no, some time spent surfing, then time with my art. It's very fluid."

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Another benefit of travel as a lifestyle, as identified

by the artisans, is the ability to remove oneself from

situations that may result in mental or physical stress. In

this regard, six artisans believe that such a nomadic

lifestyle allows them to avoid mental stress and possible

psychological disorders that may have resulted (or

persisted) from remaining in a traditional lifestyle. In

particular, two artisans discuss their personal struggles

with depression before they began travelling as nomadic

artisans, and how relieved, and in the case of one, "alive,"

they feel after having adopted this alternative lifestyle.

Critiques of stress are not limited to the realm of the

psychological, however. The impacts of physical stress on

the body, due to a lack of mobility, are a concern addressed

by Changoleon (who actually shuddered when I used the word

'office'). He explains that,

"Offices are uncomfortable. They produce phobias and stress. When you move its like 'ohhh, that hurts!' It hurts here, it hurts there [motions to different parts of his body], and that's what happens when you're behind a computer all day. It's like searching for a sickness. No, no, no!"

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Another theme that surfaces on several occasions when

discussing the mobile nature of life as a nomadic artisan is

strength. Four artisans claim that to live and travel as a

nomadic artisan, particularly when you must travel on your

own, requires a great deal of strength (other participants

do not mention strength). Two of these four explain that

they were not aware of the amount of strength that they were

capable of until they began to live this way, and that they

are still and constantly in the process of learning about

themselves, and recognizing and appreciating their

abilities. Importantly, all four of these individuals are

women, which suggests a brief, although notable pattern of a

potential positive relationship between the adoption of such

a lifestyle by women and the development of personal

abilities and self-confidence.16

16 Although worth noting in this study, this potential positive relationship may actually be more telling of the ways in which traditional gender roles that are practiced in more conventional lifestyles discourage the development and demonstration of strength by women. By the same token, this realization of strength may have also been experienced by male nomadic artisans during their travels, but was simply not mentioned during the interviews. Unfortunately, such propositions and inquiries are ultimately beyond the scope of this study.

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During the interviews, the freedom to travel was often

equated with control over one's life. Formacio, Kolibri,

Pakal, Coatl Zint Contreras and Cigarra all discuss the

importance of being in control of your ability to travel and

how this is achieved with a lack of a routine or obligations

that require you to be somewhere at a certain time. Cigarra

explains that,

"I feel free right now, here today, no. I could grab mybackpack and go to the next town, or wherever I want togo. I'm free ... I can go to the mountains, the lakes, a city, wherever ... and, you know, as a sociologist, it would be very difficult for me to be able to travel.I would have to work very, very, very much, for many hours everyday, to save money to travel. And working, Idon't know, in some kind of bullshit as a sociologist because, in my country, it would be difficult to be a sociologist and teach what I want, important things. Verydifficult! [emphasis reflective of tone in interview]"17

Cigarra also elaborates on the political dimensions of his

understanding of freedom and control over his life as a

17 Cigarra studied Sociology for three years in El Salvador, and discussed social issues and social theory with a great deal of passion both in his interview and informally. Ultimately, he left school due to what he claims is the mediocre and oppressed state of public schools in El Salvador. He then began performing politically satirical skits in thestreets in San Salvador with other politically motivated artisans, whichled to his decision to travel as an artisan. He has continued to do boththroughout his travels, a practice that he believes has a larger impact than he would have been able to as a sociologist, at least in El Salvador.

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nomadic artisan and, in so doing, discusses another

important theme that surfaced during the interviews:

liberation and freedom from "the system. " According to

Cigarra his lifestyle as a nomadic artisan also provides him

with the

"freedom to disconnect myself from certain parts of thesystem, I don't know, like the television. The negativeparts of television. Yes, this is freedom. I don't watch much television and I don't believe in the bullshit that the newspapers say. I don't want them to convince me that we, you know, humans are bad. The newspapers here in Mexico want you to think that and bescared. And I feel like this makes me free, no. To knowthat all of that is a lie, it's a way for me to free myself. I'm not playing their game, no, their game of lies."

Therefore, for Cigarra, freedom is the ability to travel

without constraints, and also, to a certain degree, the

ability to remove himself from the ideologically-infused

"games" and "lies" of "the system." This ability to remove

or free oneself from the constraints of what many artisans

identify as "the system" plays a crucial role in their

ability to travel. Importantly, in this regard, travel as a

type of mobility is something of a tactic with which these

artisans are able to transcend

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temporal and spatial constraints, which they equate with

"the system," in their practice of the everyday. Changoleon

describes his use of travel as a tactic,

"For me travel is liberation from the whole system. Thesystem wants to keep you in one place and control you, but we are in the street and keep moving. That's not part of the system."

Importantly, Changoleon discusses mobility as a liberating

tactic, particularly when it takes place within and between

the spaces of a marginal zone such as the street. Eliza also

describes the role that what she calls "the system" plays in

her ability to live as a nomadic artisan, and her use of

travel as a tactic:

"The world doesn't want to let people exist outside of the system, really. That's why they make doing it so difficult. Anything that you do, and not just us travelling artisans have these problems, but also people from small rural villages that have always sold their tamales, and all of a sudden, now they can't sellthem! They want to control everything, but movement lets you escape that, then they can't fuck you over. Travel is the possibility of living freely and independently of their control."

Similarly, Payaso explains the controlling nature of "the system" and his use of

travel to escape its constraints,

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"I was satisfied with my life, but then I began to travel, and I don't think I could ever be satisfied living like that again. It's very strict, "You have to be this way and think this way." Just so that they willpay you. That's how the system functions, "Do this and we'll pay you, do that and we'll pay you." It's repression for money! Uh huh, repression, oppression and depression. So now I try to live without that, to be against the system, to fight against the system; that's why I'm travelling, you see."

Although life as a traveling artisan allows for the tactical use of mobility as a

way of fighting against "the system," this fight is still trying. Caito explains that,

"Really, the system wants us to function inside of it, but us travelling artisans are trying to leave. Sometimes bad things happen when you are travelling andliving like this and I sometimes think "I need to listen to the signs!" But really, in the end, I know that I chose this path and I need to either return to living in the system or deal with the challenges that life gives me and remain strong and firm [hits table] in what I believe and feel! That's, well, that's difficult. But after all this time I still think "Good thing I didn't return [to the system] when it got tough." Everything that is part of that system, the people, they're people that are afraid and they're enclosed in their world of glass. Us artisans think that the world is a bit sick, no, poor thing, it's sickwith capitalism and political corruption. It's sick andit's making the people and the land sick, and we're trying to escape this because we know that it will onlymake us sick too. I couldn't be happy in the system, and I've felt that since I was a little girl. I'm telling you, it's a rejection that comes from inside."

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Therefore, these artisans have been able to create a

life that is critical of "the system" by moving from one

marginal zone to another, such as la Calle de los Artesanos

in Sayulita to Panchan in Chiapas, where the project of

control and ordering is incomplete. When they do run into a

space with constraints, control, or some type of

enforcement, the mobile nature of this lifestyle, such as

described by Cigarra above "I could grab my backpack and

go...," allows them to move onto the next location and

continue their activities. Moreover, this use of travel, or

mobility, as a tactic through which one may escape the

constraints of "the system, " for these artisans, is a

process that they enjoy insofar as it allows them to feel

"alive" and experience new things while simultaneously

escaping the control, "repression, oppression and

depression" of "the system."

Travel and mobility introduce these artisans to new

experiences, but importantly, also to new ideas and

epistemological stances that have the potential to spur

reflexivity concerning how an individual understands and

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interacts with the world. In fact, when asked what travel

means to them, all fifteen of the artisans equate travel with a

type of learning. As explained by Formacio,

"I think that everyone should travel at some point. I think that the moment that you travel in different ways, by hitchhiking, by bus, or by walking, you learn and have different experiences, and have a different perspective of reality than, than your reality. So, the moment that you achieve this, it's a different way of life; you're not enclosed in your world, no. And you understand and accept all people as humans, too, and you don't see them as objects. And you become aware of other people and the conditions in which they live, andthat they're human, too. Then you begin to break down beliefs that you had, and dependencies on material objects. Before I began traveling I had so many material things that I thought were necessary ... Everyone should try stepping outside of their comfort, because in the end we're all obsolete, but now we need to understand the circumstances that surround us. The more open you are, the more you'll understand [emphasisreflective of tone]."

According to Coatl Zint Contreras, this type of consciousness, or learning, is

something that may only be achieved with travel,

"I think that travelling artisans have a certain type of consciousness. I'm not saying that they all have it,or that people who work in offices, for example, never have it, I'm just saying that to travel as an artisan you should be respectful, should accept people for who they are ... and you can see that difference in travellers because travelling this way teaches you things. It puts you in situations where you have to

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learn about life quickly, and people who haven't traveled, who live in Babylon and never leave the city,may not learn these things. That's what life is about, travelling and learning. It's like turning on a better television."

The advantage that travel lends to this process of

learning is explained by Edu wi fies. He claims that "when

you're travelling you meet people, learn about different

cultures and ways of living, but you're always a little bit

outside of these cultures so you can understand them and

yourself better." In this regard, the artisans have the

unique advantage of approaching cultures and different

points of view with an outsider's perspective, insofar as it

allows them to appreciate, or by the same token, be critical

of conditions that someone from that culture may not view in

the same way. For example, Ánima explains the difference

between understandings of death in Mexico and Canada, "In

Canada when there's a death there's a funeral and tears and

sadness, but in Mexico they eat food and dance all night and

there's a celebration. How beautiful is that?"

This contact with different ways of understanding and

being, such as different ways of dealing with death, is part

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of the process of learning that so many of these nomadic

artisans see as intertwined with the very nature of travel.

Such learning experiences are described by Payaso as "an

alternative education that will serve me more than what I

learned in school."

Finally, two other notable themes that also surfaced

during discussions of travel and learning were poverty and

materialism. Eliza, Formacio, Pezuña, Coatl Zint Contreras,

Pakal and Cigarra all mention that travel has allowed them

to become aware of, have contact with, and, to some degree,

understand the extreme poverty of people in different areas.

Also, Eliza, Formacio, Pakal, Coatl Zint Contreras, Kolibri,

Payaso, Caito, Cigarra and Changoleon all discuss the ways

in which travelling as an artisan has challenged the

assumption that they "need" many material objects. On the

contrary, to attempt to carry an abundance of things in your

backpack while hitchhiking across a country is more often

than not prohibitive. Here, Eliza explains what she has

learned during her travels about the linkages between

poverty and materialism,

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"I have learned that, well I had the experience of having many things and it didn't make me happier. In Latin America there's a lot of material poverty, and that makes life a lot more difficult, no. For example, in the mountains of Oaxaca there are a lot of people with very few material possessions, but they live a life that is in many ways much healthier really."

Creativity

As discussed in the literature review, the four types

of alienation that result from the exploitative nature of

capitalism are the estrangement of the worker from the

product of labour, the objectification of the process of

production, a lack of self-affirmation during the production

of labour, and estrangement from other human beings, and

thus, from humanity as a whole. However, by drawing upon

the work of Berardi (2009) and Dissanayake (1995), it has

also been argued that the free expression of the creative

impulse may be a therapeutic way of negating such attacks on

the "soul," and alienation. However, this free expression of

creativity as a therapeutic endeavour also requires a

situation that is conducive to its practice. If, as has been

demonstrated above, the artisans practice time, space and

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mobility in such a way that their lifestyles are not

subjected to the controlling, ordering, fragmenting and

alienating mechanisms of modernity under capitalism, then

the freedom from such constraints must impact the ways in

which they partake in the creative process.

The ability to create something with one's

capabilities, or in a way that allows an individual to

express him or herself was a common theme in the interviews.

Nine of the fifteen participants explicitly use the phrase

"self-expression" when they describe their art and the

process through which it is created. Furthermore, six of

these nine artisans equate this ability to express oneself

with freedom. In this regard, both Ánima and Edu wi fies

compare their creative processes as artisans to previous

forms of employment, and explain that they were not free or

able to express themselves in their previous jobs to the

extent (if at all) that they are now. Rasta also explains

the depth and impact that self-expression through one's work

can have on the final product: "the concept of who I am and

how I live is all expressed in my work on the table, I'm

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reflected on this table." Similarly, by elaborating on the

ways in which self-expression can transform material

objects, Changoleon describes his work as a process through

which "you can transform materials into anything you desire.

Your thoughts and ideas become materialized in the product

of your work, and you can make anything that you want,

however you want to make it," and Vianne elaborates on this

process by claiming that "You're making something that comes

from you and, you know, you're not necessarily thinking

about anything other than what you've got in you and what

you want to create." Perhaps, however, it is Ánima who most

succinctly describes the relationship between the artisans'

self-expression and their work by stating that "really, your

work is basically an extension of yourself."

Concerning control over the process of production and

creation, it is significant that thirteen of the fifteen

participants claim that it is important to them that they

themselves are in control of the process of creating, which

all thirteen are (the remaining two participants did not

discuss control over the process of production). Moreover,

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eleven of the thirteen explicitly discuss not having a boss

and how this results in their ability to control their

creative processes. The artisans elaborate on and describe

this situation of control in different ways. For example,

Francisca uses the term "autonomous work" and claims that

this way of working and creating is inseparable from her

lifestyle as a whole. In other words, by echoing the

artisans who claim that mobility and travel gives them

control over their lives, insofar as they are not subjected

to the project of ordering and control, here Francisca

agrees that control over her life as a whole, as part of

this alternative lifestyle, allows her to perform creative

activity on her own terms.

Also of importance is that five artisans equate

controlled work with slavery. Pakal explains that "creating

something with my hands so that someone else can become rich

is slavery and I won't do it. That's the business of

colonization. I'm breaking out of the chains of the

conquest." Importantly, here a pattern emerges in which all

five of the artisans that equate controlled work with

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slavery are Mexican. More specifically, above Pakal equates

controlled work with slavery and the conquest of Mexico,

which may mean that the ability to control the production of

one's art may have a specific and historically situated

meaning for some Mexican artisans.

To address the third type of alienation, I simply asked

artisans if they found the process of creating their jewelry

fulfilling. I received few direct and concise answers

(actually, only four explicitly said yes, it is fulfilling),

although, the majority did respond in a positive manner and

instead of "fulfilling," used words such as satisfying,

enriching, enjoyable or therapeutic. Concerning the latter,

and in agreement with Berardi, Edu wi fies explains that,

"for me [making art] is therapy. The power to express

yourself, no. Therapy, therapy with your hands." Caito

expresses a similar sentiment by claiming that "travelling

artisans are searching for things that are enriching, that

enrich their soul, no. And art, wooowwwww, it's a very, very

good way to do that!" Therefore, although not all artisans

explain the process of creating as specifically fulfilling,

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the majority do express that it allows them to affirm

themselves in some way. For example, Changoleon expresses

that the process of creating

"lifts you up. When I make an awesome and very beautiful piece, it nourishes my soul and makes me wantto keep creating! It's healthy art, no. It's such a satisfaction to be able to make things to offer to people, the satisfaction after two or three hours working to then finish and look at it and think "oh my god!" It's really mentally and physically satisfying! Ihave been doing this for years and I still want to keepmaking my art until I am a hundred years old!"

Finally, the commodification of the products of the

artisans' creative processes is also discussed. Although

these artisans are producing commodities, this does not

appear to in any way distort the creative process. Perhaps

this is because the artisans have complete control over the

process of production and the process of exchange; the

latter of which may be approached in such a way that does

not prioritize the maximization of profit. I elaborate on

the artisans' relationship to their products as commodities

below.

Nine of the fifteen participants explicitly mention

that they create to create, and the profit they receive from

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the product is secondary. For example, Eliza makes very

intricate and detailed macramé flowers that are somewhat

large and involve a great deal of time and work. I asked her

what they were for and she said "Anything you want really. I

hardly ever sell them, but I love the process of making them

even though it takes so much time and effort." Therefore,

although Eliza could have spent the large amount of time

that she used to make these intricate flowers on several

other items that may have been more likely to sell, she

would prefer to put the time into creating something that

she enjoys. Changoleon describes his similar feelings

towards the creative process,

"The process of creating is such a satisfaction, and I would continue to do so even if I didn't receive a cent. The money is like an "extra," it's supplementary.My work is something personal and spiritual, everythingthat I make, wow, a pleasure before it even sells."

Similarly, Edu wi fies claims that "You do this, you make

things with your hands because it's your passion. You have

to do it. When you create you're not thinking about the

money." Caito echoes Edu wi fies by agreeing that the

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monetary value of your art is simply not a consideration

during the process of creation,

"When I weave [make jewelry] I don't intentionally makesomething that I think will sell, no. And I let the process flow and then I finish and look at it and think"No one is going to want this!" And I always say that, but I believe that the person who really feels a connection with it will take it. And that's happened a lot of times, but someone always takes it!"

Although the majority of the artisans claim that they

give preference to the joy that they receive from the

process of creating over the profit that they will receive,

importantly, this does not mean that they do not take the

latter into consideration. Vianne explains that,

"To be honest, it started off without thinking about the commercial value, because I'd had no experience with the commercial value of things, so you're like "I wanna make this!" and you make it. But over the years it's hard to not be influenced by what you know will sell, no. So even though it might not be exciting to bemaking six bracelets that are just not very exciting, well I still enjoy it and, well, I'd rather do that than be in an office, so at the end of the day it's better."

Thus, the artisans' creation of what are inherently

commodities has not allowed the monetary value of their work

to take precedence over the joy that they receive from the

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process of production. Moreover, they also have complete

control over the process of exchange. For example, Pakal

explains that,

"Sometimes people come to my table and really like one of my pieces, no. It's obvious. But they don't have a lot of money. If I can tell that they really like it and they should have it, I give it to them for a very cheap price, because, well, you can just tell when a piece belongs to somebody."

On the other hand, however, artisans can sometimes also

tell when a piece does not belong to somebody. Pezuña

describes his experience with this situation,

"I was in Playa del Carmen in the street with my table and this lady asked how much a necklace was. I told herand she said it was too much. It was jade from Guatemala and a lot of work, no, a beautiful piece, really. She came again the next day with a tour guide and picked up my necklace and showed it to [the guide] and said, "It is too expensive!" The guide said "it's his work, he can charge whatever he wants," no, and of course the guide was right! It was a lot of work, many many hours! And this lady, she said "no, no, it's too expensive." This upset me ... she didn't value my work,no, this crazy lady, and she wouldn't leave me alone. So the next day this lady, she came back again! And shesaid she wanted to buy the jade necklace. I said no, I packed up my table and left!"

Although Pezuña could have received full asking price for

his work, he still refused to sell. Therefore, it is clear

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that, for these artisans, the value of their work, which

they themselves determine, and the relationship between them

and the customer may take precedence over the desire to

maximize profit, which is in many ways incompatible with the

market ideology of capitalism.

Finally, the fourth type of alienation is the

estrangement from others, and thus, from humanity as a

whole. However, the sense of community, or lack of

estrangement from others, that exists among and between the

artisans is quite subjective. I previously addressed the

concept of la banda and, although it is a commonly used and

understood term among these nomadic artisans themselves, it

is not conceptually sufficient as an inclusionary and

exclusionary operational tool for this study. Moreover the

ability to allow the term la banda to provide a conceptual

basis is challenged by some of the artisans' assertions that

they themselves do not belong to la banda, either because of

their disagreement with the conduct of la banda, their

affiliation with a different group in their home country, or

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the assertion that they practice this way of life

individually and without ties to any group.

However, although not all of the artisans understand

themselves as belonging to a group with conceptual borders

such as those provided by la banda, this does not mean that

they do not share a sense of community with one another,

particularly since they tend to travel to, and congregate

in, the same locations. Although not all of the artisans

explicitly discuss this sense of community, I was able to

observe the ways in which it both functions and is lacking

during my participant observation. For example, although an

artisan may disagree with another artisan's conduct, and

they each set up their stands in different areas, they are

very much aware of one another due to the fact that both are

artisans, participate in the same nomadic lifestyle, and

often, have friends in common. Therefore, although not all

of the artisans that participated in this study believe that

there exists a sense of community among individuals that

practice this lifestyle, there are social connections among

them to the extent that they are very much aware of one

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another, and are (at least superficially) amicable with one

another (by greeting one another when passing), even if they

have engaged in altercations with one another in the past.

Here, Formacio explains that,

"The artisans support one another. Like "Hey, I need a little bit of this material, give me a little, no." or "Hey, let me borrow your pliers, no." "Oh, here, sure."But it's also a question of personality of how one seesthe world and if you treat the artisan next to you likea brother, a very close friend, then you'll never have problems. When you have problems is when someone is like "Hey, you're going to steal my sales, man, don't put your stand next to mine!" But I think that's falling into something pathetic and very sick, no. "

Ánima also describes the sense of community that she feels exists among the

artisans,

"I mean, we're all so different and unique, there are like groups within groups. But, over the years ... the majority of them [other artisans], you know, they're really good people. They're loving, and they would do anything for you. Like there's that saying "give someone the shirt off your back." It's like, even if they don't have a shirt, which sometimes they don't (both laugh), they would find you a shirt to give to you before they would take it for them, you know? And we're really a community, to the point that if days go by and someone doesn't sell anything, then the person that did have a good day is going to be like "Oh, why don't you come with me and have some tacos?" or "Why don't I buy the beer today," or whatever."

143

Perhaps Changoleon expresses the strongest sentiments

concerning this sense of community. He explains that, "This

is how I've created my family, by travelling and selling my

art in the street. These people are my family."

As stated above, however, not everyone shares these

sentiments concerning a sense of community. In particular,

during my time in Sayulita there was an incident in which a

new artisan arrived in town and set up his stand by the

beach (the most desired spot) among other artisans who were

already there, but without asking. Apparently another

artisan told him to move because it was his friend's spot,

he didn't, and this resulted in a physical altercation. This

incident was subsequently mentioned by four artisans during

their interviews (all strongly disagree with the physical

violence that ensued), and was discussed a great deal

informally among the artisans themselves when I was present.

Intriguingly, many who discussed the incident in their

interviews were not directly involved, nor did they

personally know the two artisans that were. However, they

were aware that it had occurred because those involved were

144

nomadic artisans like themselves. Thus, the artisans are

aware of and interested in what is happening to other

artisans, even those they do not personally know, which

speaks to the nature of the (not always positive) social

connection between them. This connection is highlighted

comparatively by the fact that the quotidian realities of

other vendors who are also in the same vicinity every day,

such as indigenous bead workers or women selling tamales,

are of little or no concern to the artisans.

Francisca, who also completed a degree in sociology in

her home country of Spain, elaborates on this sense of

community, or lack thereof, and the problematic

conceptualization of la banda, while discussing the above

incident,

"I do not identify with la banda here in Mexico. In Spain la banda is called la pena, and it's a way of life where you help one another out. Here, they will not help you but tell you "Out!" We have other principles, so for me la banda, or la pena, explains anattitude. To help other people that also live their lives in the street selling things, no. Here, they're very individualistic because they see you as competition and not as a compañera. In Spain we are a collective in the street and we fight against the police, and all kinds of things. So in Spain we respect

145

one another. And here, did you hear, two days ago an artisan came and put his things by the beach and "Clack!" they hit him, do you understand me? And just because he didn't ask! This would never, never happen in Spain! So, for me, I can't call three people that believe they're the owners of the street la banda. So you have to understand that this conceptualization of la banda in your study is very subjective."

So, for Francisca, although she does not personally know the

artisans that participated in the altercation, she is very

much aware that it happened and describes how such behaviour

is part of the reason that she has distanced herself from

the conceptualization of la banda. However, she does spend

time with and sell her wares next to other artisans that

participated in this study who do identify as members of la

banda, which further highlights the subjective nature of the

term that she discusses, particularly as it relates to the

sense of community that does and does not exist among these

individuals.

Finally, Cigarra also discusses the nature of community

among the artisans,

C: "Hmm, la banda [laughs]. Well, the word la banda, how can I explain it? There is everything in la banda, no. From very very good people who will take food out of their own mouths to put into yours so that you are

146

well. There are also people that don't want you to be ok, no, that are jealous or, I don't know, bullshit like that. There's not always a lot of unity. If we want to be a functional group in this large society, no, this society that encircles us, then we have to work more on that."A.P.: "So do you think that this is a type of community?"C: "Well it's not a strong community. But it could be, yes of course it could be [emphasis reflective of tone in interview]."

Therefore, while only some of the artisans mention community,

there is no doubt that they are interconnected in complex ways with one another

and with their environment. These connections further reducetheir alienation and

provide a context in which their creativity can both emerge and thrive.

Escaping Psychic Imperialism

Another theme that surfaced during the interviews was

the importance of a type of mental or epistemological

freedom. This freedom was also marginally addressed above in

the discussions of psychic nomadism, critiques of "the

system," epistemological shifts that result from one's

ability to learn while travelling, and a non-prioritization

147

of market ideologies. However, such mental freedom requires

further elaboration here.

This mental freedom from "the system" is understood

differently by each artisan who mentions it in his or her

interview. However, all equate this mental freedom with

their alternative lifestyles. Importantly, Pakal, Rasta and

Pezuña all explain that living as a nomadic artisan, and the

marginal spaces in which this takes place, is what has

allowed them to continue to "think differently." Six other

participants also mention that the artisans have a

"different" way of thinking and seeing the world. In

particular, Changoleon believes that life as a nomadic

artisan has allowed him to avoid the "conquest of the mind"

that results from the prioritization of profit and material

objects under capitalism.

Perhaps Formacio best explains the ways in which such

mental and epistemological freedom allows for the

challenging of normalized assumptions,

"Being a traveling artisan means that you disobey a lotof rules, no. Because you know that those rules are only there to fuck you over, no, they have no other

148

purpose. They're only there to take your money and makeyou feel obligated. This way of living makes you think and reflect on their rules and to think 'ok, this is for good, or this is only for bad' and to know that you're really doing the right thing."

Therefore, the ability of these artisans to adopt

alternative epistemological leanings and understandings is

both enabled by and results from their practice of

alternative lifestyles that are not subjected to the

ordering and controlling project of modernity under

capitalism. This connection between epistemological

alternatives and the creation of ontological alternatives is

clearly a crucial aspect of the lifestyles of these nomadic

artisans. Importantly, this ability to not only challenge

normalized epistemological assertions, but also to allow

them to inform the practice of an alternative, is arguably a

demonstration of the lack of psychic imperialism that Bey

has claimed may lend itself to the creation of a TAZ.

The Impact of an Alternative Lifestyle

149

When asked if they believe that their lifestyles have

an impact on the rest of society, thirteen of the artisans

said yes, and one said that he did not know. Only one

expressed that he wasn't interested in making an impact; he

is just living his life. Kolibri and Ánima believe that

people are beginning take note of how the artisans are

living. They claim that this realization has inspired others

to adopt alternative lifestyles as well, such that this way

of life is now being practiced by people all over the world.

Edu wi fies elaborates on this impact,

"I think that, yes, it's obviously having an impact. The moment that someone stops in the street and shows an interest in what you're doing, no, in your way of life. It may not impact them right then, but helps to open their mind a bit. And in this consumerist culture,in the very least we're demonstrating that there are alternatives, no, that you can live in another way, andit's wonderful."

In this regard, it is worth noting that eleven of the

participants explain that they witnessed another individual

and his or her nomadic lifestyle before adopting a similar

way of living him or herself. Therefore, this impact is real

insofar as it provided these eleven artisans with the idea

150

to adopt such a lifestyle, which they ultimately did.

Perhaps most fundamental is the ontological critique of

normalized ways of being that this lifestyle provides. Eliza

elaborates,

"When I was younger I always wanted to change the world. I was so passionate about wanting to change the world but, eventually, I realized that I can't change the world, but I can change my world. And now, sometimes I feel like I'm not doing anything! Other people fight for freedom, and I don't know, I'm not doing anything like that. I enjoy life and make my art.But when I think about it, I realize that I'm doing a ton! I'm demonstrating how it's possible to live a lifethat you create, no [emphasis reflective of tone]."

Although thirteen of the artisans believe that their

lifestyles make an impact, insofar as they demonstrate an

alternative way of being, the demonstration of this

alternative is not always something that they are

intentionally attempting to achieve. In other words,

regardless of the ontological challenge that such

alternative lifestyles present to normalized understandings

of ways of being, is not always the intention of these

artisans to provide a political critique of the existing

power structure.

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Chapter 5

Discussion

In this chapter I present a brief overview of the study

findings, address the research questions, and situate the

results of the study within the existing literature. I

conclude by revisiting the limitations of the study and

suggesting areas for further research.

The objective of this study is to dowse for potential

autonomous zones with a psychotopological investigation of

the lifestyles of nomadic artisans in Mexico. By performing

semi-structured interviews and participant observation, I

solicited the narratives and understandings of these

artisans and observed the ways in which they practice

various facets of their alternative lifestyles. In so doing,

I sought to answer the following questions: How do these

artisans both understand and practice time, space, and

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mobility as part of an alternative lifestyle, and what are

the negative critiques and positive alternatives that take

place therein? Do these understandings and practices allow

for the free expression of creativity, and what is the

relationship of these expressions of creativity to

alienation, or a lack thereof, within this lifestyle? And

finally, are there demonstrations of psychic nomadism and

rejections of psychic imperialism within these alternative

understandings and practices?

Overview of Findings

    Overall, the artisans have created alternative

lifestyles that seek freedom from imposed control, such as

that which is a crucial part of the ordering project of

modernity under capitalism. In particular, the artisans

avoid rigid understandings and practices of time, space and

mobility, by constructing and practicing each in divergent

ways. These alternative and liberating practices facilitate

creative expression, which is also a fundamental component

153

of the lifestyles of the artisans.

Time

Importantly, the findings show that the artisans value

a relaxed understanding and practice of time that gives

precedence to natural and kairological rhythms rather than

linear and quantified clock time. They explicitly critique

the imposition of clock time on quotidian practices and the

ways in which this fragmenting imposition is fundamentally

incompatible with their lifestyles.  In particular, several

artisans described frustrating situations in which they had

been subjected to imposed clock time. They then compare such

impositions to the more liberated understandings and

practices of time that are enabled by their alternative

lifestyles. Importantly, these practices of time that are

liberated from imposed and quantified controls allow the

artisans to avoid what Lefebvre (2004: 75) calls

the "dispossession of the body." This dispossession takes

place when an individual distances him or herself from

internal natural rhythms and practices of kairological time

154

in order to avoid the violence that ensues from the

imposition of linear and quantified time on such subjective

rhythms. In contrast to partaking in this numbing

dispossession, which is arguably common under imposed time

within modernity, the artisans are able to remain more in

tuned with their natural and internal rhythms.

Furthermore, the rejection of such imposed time also

allows the artisans to partake in Lefebvre's (2004: 30)

appropriated time, or a "time" with no sense of time, as

they express themselves through creative activity.

Therefore, the artisans critique imposed linear and

mechanized time, while simultaneously allowing such

critiques to inform their practice of liberated time within

their alternative lifestyles.

Space

The findings show that the artisans have called for

both a reinforcement and an opening up of borders so as to

protect and allow access to space that enables the

performance of their lifestyles. Their inability to access

155

or enter spaces due to discrimination, or their restriction

to an enclosed space such as a jail cell, prompted

criticisms of the control of space under the project of

modernity within capitalism.

Ordered and controlled space is largely avoided by the

artisans. This means that the performance of their

lifestyles takes place in marginal zones such as la Calle de

los Artesanos in Sayulita and Panchan in Chiapas. However,

the ability to participate in these marginal zones requires

knowledge of spatial practices therein and the ways in which

such practices either enable to subvert epistemologically-

laden power structures. For example, the ability to sell

one's wares in the marginal space of la Calle de los

Artesanos requires an awareness of fees for the use of such

space and how to avoid them. The avoidance of these fees is

a subversion of the attempted imposition of structural

powers on this marginal space.

By the same token, however, the artisans themselves

also impose their own spatial practices on these marginal

zones. Artisans must also be aware of these non-structural

156

impositions and assertions of control, as was demonstrated

in the altercation that took place in Sayulita over space in

which to sell one's wares. Therefore, knowledge of situated

spatial practices, which are generated by different groups

with divergent agendas and are buttressed by variant

epistemological assertions, is necessary for all artisans

that pursue lifestyles in these marginal zones.

Time and space are practiced in a divergent and more

liberating manner in marginal zones. In this way, these

marginal zones provide the artisans with an escape from

practices of time and space that have been subjected to the

ordering project of modernity. Importantly, however, these

divergent practices of time and space within marginal zones

allow such zones to present a type of ontological challenge

to normalized and controlled understandings of space.

For example, as discussed above, Changoleon explains

that the artisans "share freedom in the street, because

there are no rules in the street."

For the artisans, the street is a space of freedom that is

liberated from the controlling and ordering mechanisms of

157

modernity under capitalism. This liberated and unrestrained

use of the space of the street by the artisans provides an

ontological challenge to normalized understandings of the

street. Typically, streets are understood as ordered,

efficient and functional in their ability to connect point a

to point b; this idea is also purported by "objective"

cartographic understandings of space (Pinder, 1996: 407).

However, such normalized understandings are challenged when

the artisans perform liberating and unordered understandings

of time and space in the street as they sell their wares

there. Thus, in so doing, they not only challenge normalized

assumptions of space, but also draw attention to the

demonstrations of power that both enable and buttress such

understandings.

Importantly, this use of marginal space to provide an

ontological critique of practices of space, which draws

attention to power dynamics therein, is a demonstration of

Lefebvre's representational space (1991: 39).

Mobility

158

           The artisans critique the ways that they

believe "the system" impedes mobility, and how this

immobility can lead to both psychological and physical

stress.

The artisans often compared such assertions and criticisms

to their nomadic lifestyles to demonstrate how they use

mobility as a tactical escape from "the system." Moreover,

the findings also show that, when used as a tactic by the

artisans, mobility may result in realizations and

demonstrations of personal strength, feelings of control

over one's life, and the ability to achieve epistemological

shifts from the illuminating nature of travel.

Therefore, in order to access such benefits, the

artisans strategically use mobility as a tactic, or as a

continued process, to avoid the controlling and restricting

mechanisms that are incompatible with their liberating

lifestyles. This finding is congruent with De Certeau's

discussion of movement through the city, and the ways in

which movement must be continuous in order to avoid being

subjected to temporal and spatial constraints (1984: 106).

159

The artisans' dedication to travel as a lifestyle choice

challenges normalized understandings and practices of space,

time and mobility within the everyday. Moreover, such

divergent and ongoing practices mean that the artisans

themselves are continually both introducing, and being

introduced to, difference. The ways in which these artisans

introduce difference into new spaces through the process of

mobility presents a serious challenge to the ordering and

homogenizing intentions of modernity under capitalism.

Negative backlash to the introduction of such difference is

seen in the discriminatory exclusion of these artisans from

space, which has also been discussed in regards to gypsies

and New Age Travellers (Hetherington, 1997: 64).

Also of importance is that all fifteen of the artisans

equate travel, as a type of mobility, with learning. By

continually being introduced to difference in a variety of

spaces, the artisans are able to adopt differing spatially-

located epistemologies, or ways of knowing. Therefore, the

process of travel not only

encourages these artisans to be more reflexive concerning

160

their own personal beliefs, but it also presents them with a

plethora of other belief systems with which they may

construct new ways of understanding and interacting with the

world around them. This ability to adopt and alternate

between different belief systems is a demonstration of Bey's

psychic nomadism, which is required for the potential

germination of a TAZ (1990: 7).

Creativity

  The majority of the artisans feel that they are able to

express themselves through their art, that they have control

over the process of production, and that this process is

fulfilling or self-affirming. Also, although the artisans

produce commodities, their control over the process of

production means that exchange value has not been given

precedence over the joy of creating. Importantly, this

prioritization of what Dissanayake calls the "joie de

faire," or the joy of creating, over the concern for

monetary profit is congruent with Berardi's contentions that

161

art is a therapeutic chaoid which allows an individual to

negate the panic-ridden context and impositions of

capitalism and modernity (Dissanayake, 1995: 3-4; Berardi,

2009: 135).

Importantly, the artisans' ability to freely perform

unalienated creative activity is enabled by their

alternative lifestyles. By practicing time and space in a

liberating manner, the artisans are able to avoid the

ordering and controlling aspects of modernity under

capitalism that lead to fragmented and alienated lives

(Lefebvre, 2002: 32). As discussed in the literature review,

work under capitalism removes control over the process of

labouring and the product of labour from the worker, limits

creativity, and results in alienation (Marx, 1978: 74-5).

However, the artisans have been able to avoid such

constraints with the performance of their alternative

lifestyles and, in so doing, minimize/eliminate alienation

and freely pursue the creative activity that is a

fundamental aspect of their lives as artisans.

162

Psychic Nomadism and the Avoidance of Psychic Imperialism

  The final research question addresses the presence of

psychic nomadism and the avoidance of psychic imperialism,

both of which are required for the germination of a TAZ. As

discussed above, the artisans demonstrate psychic nomadism

in their ability to adopt, and alternate between, varying

ways of understanding and knowing during their travels.

Importantly, this epistemological freedom that is required

for demonstrations of psychic nomadism is enabled by

rejections of psychic imperialism.

The rejection of psychic imperialism is described by

nine participants as the artisans' ability to "think

differently." The findings demonstrate that this ability to

"think differently" is often coupled with a critique of

normalized assumptions and beliefs that both enable and

buttress the project of ordering and control within

modernity and capitalism, or what many artisans refer to as

"the system." Such critiques are highly compatible with,

and enable, the divergent ways of being and understanding

163

that the artisans practice within their alternative

lifestyles.

The Lifestyles of Nomadic Artisans in Mexico as Conducive to

the Germination of Temporary Autonomous Zones?

In sum, the findings have demonstrated that the

artisans are critical of the controlled and ordered ways in

which time, space and mobility are understood and practiced

under capitalism and modernity. Moreover, they allow such

criticisms to inform their constructions of differing, and

more liberated, understandings and practices through which

their alternative lifestyles are performed. This freedom

from many alienating constraints also allows these

individuals to freely partake in creative activities, which

are fundamental to their lifestyles as artisans. Finally,

the narratives and practices of the artisans have

demonstrated both psychic nomadism and a rejection of

psychic imperialism. Such epistemological variance and

freedom is conducive to the ontological challenges that both

lead to and are foundationally required by a TAZ. Therefore,

164

by addressing the research questions, the findings

demonstrate that the lifestyles of the artisans, which are

in many ways liberated from controlling and ordering

constraints, appear to be conducive to the germination of a

TAZ as a space of freedom. Indeed, these artisans

demonstrate characteristics that are crucial for, and may

also contribute to, the inception of a TAZ.

However, several issues that surfaced in the findings

may or may not play an enabling or prohibitive role in this

potential germination. Importantly, thirteen, or the

majority of the participants, believe that their lifestyles

have an impact on the rest of society insofar as such

lifestyles demonstrate an alternative way of living and

being. The nature of these lifestyles, such that they are

performed in front of others, necessarily provides an

example of an alternative, and thus an ontological

challenge. However, the nature of the TAZ arguably requires

an intended and highly involved tactical use of such

ontological critiques in the ability to perpetuate a type of

ontological warfare with the hopes of undermining normative

165

epistemologies on a larger-scale.

Although the artisans have critiqued the normalized

practices and understandings of controlling mechanisms,

allowed these critiques to inform their construction of an

alternative, are able to freely perform creative activity,

and demonstrate psychic nomadism and rejections of psychic

imperialism, this may not necessarily result in a TAZ. All

of these critiques, practices and understandings are

required for the germination of a TAZ. However, the

individual or group that intends to spur the manifestation

of a TAZ would intentionally and actively use all of the

above tactically and with the intent of participating in

"guerilla ontology" and "the nomadic war machine," rather

than utilizing them to solely create an individual lifestyle

(Bey, 1990: 4).

Thus, although this psychotopological investigation has

been successful in its attempts to identify a "space with

the potential to flower as an autonomous zone," the actual

manifestation of such a zone, ultimately, depends on the

intentions and strategic actions of the individual artisans

166

therein (Bey, 1990: 4).

Furthermore, in order to have a larger ontologically and

epistemologically challenging impact, a potential TAZ would

likely require the unification of individuals into a

functional social group. Thus, the somewhat contradictory

and subjective understandings of community discussed in the

findings may also be either prohibitive or enabling for the

germination of a TAZ. In other words, whether or not the

artisans are able to improve their unity and sense of

connectedness, as they collectively create marginal spaces

of freedom through collaborative engagement in social

practices, may also determine their (in)ability to germinate

a TAZ.

The Importance of the TAZ

This study of the alternative lifestyles of these

nomadic artisans has demonstrated the ways in which it is

possible to create a lifestyle that is, to a large extent,

free from the controlling and ordering mechanisms of

167

modernity and capitalism. As discussed in the literature

review, these mechanisms create alienated and fragmented

lives in which natural and subjective rhythms are repressed,

liberating mobility is largely precluded, and self-

affirmation through creative expression is not always

possible. By evading these alienating and fragmenting

aspects of life under modernity and capitalism, the artisans

have created lifestyles that, as explained by Payaso,

attempt to avoid "the system['s] ... repression, oppression

and depression." Moreover, the findings have also

demonstrated that such lifestyles allow the artisans to

actively demonstrate their strength, have new experiences,

learn about different ways of being and knowing, and

consume/occupy less material objects.

Although the alternative lifestyle of the artisans is

not without its problems, and would not be sustainable on a

macro-scale, its existence does provide an important

ontological challenge. If such a challenge were to be

utilized tactically in the manifestation of a TAZ, its

impact would be greater and would thus be more likely to

168

encourage different ways of knowing and being on a larger

scale. Moreover, the temporary and thus continuously mobile

nature of the TAZ would allow this ontological challenge to

take place in varying spheres and spaces.

When fragmented and alienated lives have become the

norm, the demonstration of healthier alternatives through

the ontological challenge presented by the TAZ is needed.

The intent is not to encourage everyone that witnesses the

TAZ to adopt a lifestyle as a nomadic artisan, but rather,

to reflect on the ways in which their lives are understood

and practiced and, to quote Eliza, "how it's possible to

live a life that you create" rather than one that is imposed

on individuals with the controlling and ordering mechanism

of psychic imperialism.

Theoretical Contributions

To recap, this psychotopological investigation has

identified the alternative lifestyles of nomadic artisans in

Mexico as conducive to the potential germination of a TAZ.

In so doing, it has addressed a gap in the literature

169

concerning the possible performance of the TAZ as a lifestyle,

rather than as an intermittent activity. Moreover, the

literature review examined ways in which time, space,

mobility and creativity are practiced in controlled and

sometimes oppressive ways within modernity and capitalism.

However, this study has demonstrated how these four

mechanisms: time, space, mobility and creativity, may be

fused and simultaneously practiced within liberated lifestyles that

may be conducive to the germination of a TAZ.

Finally, the integration of an alternative lifestyle

that is performed in marginal zones, and the mobile nature

of the TAZ, highlights the importance of mobility as a

challenge to the attempt to control, order and homogenize.

Hetherington has argued that because marginal spaces are

necessarily maintained separate, they do not present a

fundamental challenge to normalized understandings and

practices, but rather, they contribute to the ordering

project (1997: 8). However, as demonstrated here, if

mobility is practiced within, between and outside of these

marginal zones, as it is by these artisans, the attempt to

170

control and order is negatively impacted. Therefore,

introducing mobility as a tactic not only presents a

challenge to the ordered nature of Hetherington's marginal

zones, but it also provides them with a potentially

politically infused critique with mobile liberated zones

that partake in ontological warfare such as the TAZ.

Study Limitations and Suggestions for Future Research

Although this psychotopological investigation was

successful in identifying a space that is conducive to the

potential germination of a TAZ, it may have been

strengthened by a more in-depth examination of the variant

experiences of the artisans. Because, as discussed above,

individual intentions play a crucial role in the germination

of a TAZ, future research would benefit from examining these

individual intentions (or lack thereof) and they ways in

which they are influenced by personal experience. For

example, several artisans discussed the difficulties

involved in the performance and adoption of such a nomadic

lifestyle. Such difficulties may have an impact on an

171

individual's decision to avoid or engage in the "ontological

warfare" required by a TAZ. As well, for example, several

Mexican artisans equated controlled environments with

slavery, which may also impact their interest in challenging

normalized understandings of work and lifestyles through

ontological warfare. Future psychotopological research would

benefit from exploring these areas so as to determine the

actual likelihood of a manifestation of the TAZ among

individuals that practice such lifestyles.

Conclusion

As we witness unprecedented levels of environmental

destruction, and ever-increasing economic inequality in

which global elites utilize controlling and ordering

mechanisms to accumulate wealth at the expense and well-

being of those in both the global south and north, the

search for alternatives is crucial.

This study has examined such an alternative, as performed by

nomadic artisans in Mexico. Moreover, through a

psychotopological investigation, it has also determined that

this alternative lifestyle may also be conducive to the

172

germination of a TAZ, which may encourage the creation of

healthier and more liberated alternatives on a larger scale.

Thus, although the lifestyle of these nomadic artisans is

not without its problems, its most compelling feature may be

its potential to provide a serious ontological challenge

through the TAZ and, in so doing, accentuate the necessarily

interdependent nature of the epistemological and the

ontological, the conceptual and the actual, and the believed

and the practiced.

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Appendix A: Pictures

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(A.1.) Two artisans/drummers and one malabarista. This picture provides an excellent example of the ways in which the talents of la banda often overlap and are performed simultaneously. Flores, Guatemala. 2012. Individuals in picture have given permission for this photo to appear here.

(A.2.) Artisan participant working in Panchan. 2012.

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(A.3.) Four artisan participants and their work. Panchan. 2012.

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(A.4.). Above- Artisans behind their stall on Calle de los Artesanos. Below- Participant (left) and other artisan talking behind their stalls on Calle de los Artesanos. Sayulita. 2013.

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(A.5.) Above- Participant (left) in front of his stall talking with another artisan. Below- Participant (right) working. Calle de los Artesanos, Sayulita. 2013.

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(A.6.) Above- Artisan participant and her work at the SundayMarket on la Calle de los Artesanos. Below- La Calle de los Artesanos. Sayulita. 2013. *Special thanks to Patri Conde for sending pictures in appendices A.4. - A.6. after my camera broke in Sayulita.

Appendix B: Interview Questions

Where are you from?How old are you?

What is your education level? Are you still attending? If no- Why did you stop?

Do you identify with any cultures or indigenous groups? If yes- why?

How would you define and describe this lifestyle?Do you believe that individuals who practice this lifestyle compose a group? If so, what are they called?

Do you believe that there are any core beliefs that nomadic artisans share?

What does travel mean to you?How often do you travel as a nomadic artisan?Where have you travelled to while supporting yourself with your artesania?

Do you enjoy making your artesania?Is it fulfilling? When did you begin travelling as an artisan?How did you hear about/were introduced to this lifestyle?

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What first attracted you to this lifestyle?Did anything in your life change when you adopted this lifestyle? If yes- what changed (How is your life as a nomadic artisan different now than it was before you decided to live this way?)

Do many of your friends also practice this lifestyle?

Why did you choose this lifestyle instead of another?

What do you do in a typical day? Do you have a routine?

How are you able to earn an income? Where did you learn to do this?

What role does foreign and domestic tourism play in your everyday life?How do you feel about foreign tourists?

Is there a particular ‘look’ that nomadic artisans have? If yes- please describe this look.

How do you believe your lifestyle is different from other ways of living within Mexican society, or your home country (if not from Mexico)?

What do you think is the place of this alternative lifestylewithin the greater Mexican society? Do you this this lifestyle has an impact on others? If yes, how?

How do you think artisans that practice this lifestyle are perceived by non-artisans, or other members of society?How do you perceive non-artisans who may be judgmental of your lifestyle?Have you ever been hassled because you practice this lifestyle?

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If yes- By who? How often does it happen? How do you feel about it? What do you do about it?

Do you ever feel pressured abandon this lifestyle? If yes- by who, and/or why?

What do you think your life would be like if you had never adopted this lifestyle? Did you ever consider another way of life?Do you think you will always be a travelling artisan?

What do you think you’ll be doing in five years?Do you have any goals or dreams? If yes- Are these conducive to this lifestyle? Can youachieve these goals and still continue to travel as a nomadic artisan?

Is there anything else you would like to add, or anything else that you think I should know?

Curriculum Vitae

Name: Annaliese Mara Pope

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Post-secondary Master of Arts, Sociology Education and The University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario Degrees: 2014

Escuelita Zapatista Caracol Roberto Barrios, Chiapas, Mexico 2013 Bachelor of Arts, Sociology and Latin American Studies The University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario 2010

Honours and Graduate Thesis Research Award GrantAwards: Office of the Dean, Social Science The University of Western Ontario 2012 Scholarship for Outstanding Research Contribution PSAC Local 610: Graduate Teaching Assistant and Postdoctoral Associates Union 2012

Related Work Teaching AssistantExperience: The University of Western Ontario 2011-2014

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Publications: Pope, Annaliese. (2012). "The Privatized Paradise and Put Up a Parking Lot." Bad Subjects. 84.

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